RSA Scottish Art
The Deluge
 | Artist: John Martin |
| Title: The Deluge | |
| Year: 1837 | |
| Medium: mezzotint on paper | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: John Martin was a Northumbrian artist who made his name as a specialist of wild, romantic landscapes and dramatic biblical subjects. The Deluge is a mezzotint, a printmaking technique Martin used widely and one that allows for dramatic, dark tones and sharp, light highlights. The razor-sharp outlines define dazzling contrasts, with very authentic lighting effects. However, the glossy, surging waves, although lit in a very realistic manner, are not typical of actual waves. The execution of this very dramatic print owes a lot to powerful effects but not so much to an objective view of reality. This is a fantasy picture on a grand scale. The great shafts of light and sinister black shadows do not try to replicate a real storm but to offer the viewer an image so dramatic that the feeling of a storm is magnified greatly.The composition is extremely complex. The central shaft of light is surrounded by swirling shadows and rain clouds. The eye is drawn in many directions by lightning bolts and strong lines of force. Sharp, craggy cliffs rise high into the sky, dwarfing the humans below. Would this have been as dramatic a scene if the landscape was depicted as flat and featureless? The whole image is swirling round the brighter central area like a whirlpool.The theme of the flood is a very powerful one in the Bible. It symbolises the wrath of God against humankind. Clearly this would never be a happy subject, and the figures in the foreground seem to be suffering a most violent and terrifying ordeal. The darkness of this mood is not just displayed by the extreme range of tonal variations. This is an image where Nature itself is apparently taking revenge on humanity. Floods and storms still regularly destroy human settlements and take many lives. So although the Biblical significance of this picture may have changed, it is still a very potent and meaningful image. | |
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