- Hardcover: 150 pages
- Publisher: Northumbria University Press (Feb 1 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1904794998
- ISBN-13: 978-1904794998
- Product Dimensions: 28.6 x 24.6 x 1.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1 Kg
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #477,330 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
Barbara Morden's excellent new book brings John Martin to life - a man whose apocalyptic paintings have been such a model and inspiration. John Martin can indeed be called the 'father' of modern cinema.A" - Dr. Ray Harryhausen, pioneering designer, stop-motion animator and developer of the process Dynamation. (Clash of the Titans, 1981) The story of his life and work is brilliantly toldA". - The Journal What this woman doesn't know about Sodom and Gamorrah isn't worth knowingA". - The Crack A spectacular feast.A" - OU Community News Journal
Product Description
A beautifully illustrated volume, this biography of artist John Martin not only analyzes his paintings in the context of Victorian England but also weighs their modern significance. Exhibiting Martin’s developing style throughout his career, this remarkable exploration covers numerous aspects of the painter’s life, including Martin’s childhood with his notorious brothers in Northumberland, his career in London, his rise to international fame, and his contributions to the apocalyptic mood in England from the 1790s to the 1840s. The distinctive quality of Martin’s work is examined through key paintings in terms of techniques used, devices applied, and subject matter chosen. Martin’s reputation and influence on 19th-century railway and public architecture and 20th-century cinema are also considered.
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or 3 STARS for the reproductions?
May 4 2011
Format:Hardcover
Cultural historian, lecturer and writer in art history Babara Morden provides an account of the life and work of the monumental artist John Martin, following form his youth along with his brothers in Northumberland, his move to London and his progress towards fame. Morden consider various aspects of Martin's work and approach by considering in detail specific paintings. Also considered is Martin's legacy in terms of his influences.
The book is illustrated throughout with John Martin's works and occasionally the work of other relevant artists. There are about eighty illustrations, almost all in colour including the mezzotints.
Most of the major paintings are reproduced full page in size, although given the size of the originals these are still very small by comparison, it would have been helpful to have included a few larger details of sections of some of the works. The quality of reproduction is variable, in some cases the large dark areas are completely devoid of detail, not what I recall to be the case having seen some of the originals.
The book includes a Glossary; Chronological History, Bibliographical and Cultural Events of the Time; and suggestions for Selected Reading. But there is irritatingly no index to either text or illustrations.
The text does make interesting reading, and certainly enables the reader to consider Martin's work in the context of his time. In fact the text tends to talk around Martin's work far more than about it. For example, regarding "The Last Judgement" brief mention is made of the content, but no real detail - I recall some years ago the Tate produced a detail account of the work, describing very precisely who was depicted (my copy of which alas I seem to have lost), it would have been good to have this information here, along with the Biblical references (chapter and verse) which the paintings depict.
It is a disappointing, too, especially in view of the shortage of books and more so with colour reproductions of Martin's work that more thought did not go into this aspect of this book; even the full page illustrations leave generous page margins - maybe there was a case here for using bleed images - and the lack of any details of the paintings is a little frustrating. The result is that the book fails to convey the visual impact these paintings have in the flesh.
The book is illustrated throughout with John Martin's works and occasionally the work of other relevant artists. There are about eighty illustrations, almost all in colour including the mezzotints.
Most of the major paintings are reproduced full page in size, although given the size of the originals these are still very small by comparison, it would have been helpful to have included a few larger details of sections of some of the works. The quality of reproduction is variable, in some cases the large dark areas are completely devoid of detail, not what I recall to be the case having seen some of the originals.
The book includes a Glossary; Chronological History, Bibliographical and Cultural Events of the Time; and suggestions for Selected Reading. But there is irritatingly no index to either text or illustrations.
The text does make interesting reading, and certainly enables the reader to consider Martin's work in the context of his time. In fact the text tends to talk around Martin's work far more than about it. For example, regarding "The Last Judgement" brief mention is made of the content, but no real detail - I recall some years ago the Tate produced a detail account of the work, describing very precisely who was depicted (my copy of which alas I seem to have lost), it would have been good to have this information here, along with the Biblical references (chapter and verse) which the paintings depict.
It is a disappointing, too, especially in view of the shortage of books and more so with colour reproductions of Martin's work that more thought did not go into this aspect of this book; even the full page illustrations leave generous page margins - maybe there was a case here for using bleed images - and the lack of any details of the paintings is a little frustrating. The result is that the book fails to convey the visual impact these paintings have in the flesh.
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