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The Destruction of Tyre

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The Destruction of Tyre

Artist John Martin (British, 1789-1854)
Place of OriginEngland
Date1840
DimensionsPainting (H x W): 33 × 43 1/8 in. (83.8 × 109.5 cm)
Frame (H x W x D): 43 1/8 × 53 1/2 × 2 3/4 in. (109.5 × 135.9 × 7 cm)
Mediumoil on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1952.88
On View
Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 31
Label TextTeetering between the supernatural and the sensational, John Martin’s apocalyptic scene embodies the concept of “sublime terror.” The idea of the Sublime, popular in art and literature from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s, was often expressed by awe- or fear-inspiring images of nature, Gothic supernatural horrors, or divine retribution. Martin paints a lurid vision of the Old Testament account of Ezekiel’s prophecy warning of the destruction of the city of Tyre. Towers and buildings topple as waves pound them; lightning strikes; ships sink; and a lone, richly dressed woman in an ornate boat raises her arms to the sky in terror and lamentation. A wealthy seaport on the coast of Lebanon, Tyre is described in Ezekiel 26 as bringing the vengeance of God upon itself for turning against Jerusalem. The city was destroyed not by catastrophic storms, but by the armies of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Verse 19, however, provided Martin with his inspiration: “when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee….”Published ReferencesBalston, T., "Recent Martin Discoveries," Burlington Magazine, XCIII, Sep. 1951, p. 292.

Gunther, Charles F., "Landscape of Fancy and Freedom," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 3, no. 2, Spring 1960, p. 37-38, repr. p. 39.

Grosser, Maurice, Critic's Eye, Indianapolis, 1962, pp. 169, 170.

Grosser, Maurice, Painter's Progress, New York, 1971, p. 188, repr. fig. 52.

Huyghe, R., Formes et forces de l'atome a Rembrandt, Paris, 1971, repr. p. 33.

Feaver, W., The Art of John Martin, Oxford, 1975, pp. 179, 194, 197, 230, n. 81, pl. 128.

The Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, pp. 105-106, pl. 331.

Hollander, Anne, Moving Pictures, New York, 1989, p. 287, fig. 10.7.

Otaki, Keisuke, John Martin, Tokyo, 1995, repr. (col.) p. 38 (also reproduced in the reissued edition, 2009).

Borges, Jorge Luis, Finimondi: con i dipinti di John Martin (1789-1854), Milano, 1997, p. 128, repr. (col.).

Deloux, Jean-Pierre and Laurie Guillaud, Atlantide et autres civilisations perdues: A a Z, Paris, 2001, repr. p. 193 (col.).

Duncan, Sally Anne, Otto Wittmann: Museum Man for All Seasons, Toledo, 2001, table of contents.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 238, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryNewcastle-upon-Tyne, Laing Art Gallery, Exhibition Recording Tyneside's Contribution to Art, 1951, no. 147.

St. Louis Art Museum, Wondrous and Startling: Landscapes by John Martin from American Collections, 2007.

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