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Source Description
Martin is best known for his grandiose, apocalyptic visions of approaching doom, drawn from the Bible or mythology. But these two landscapes, created as pendants, reveal a less known aspect of his work. Martin executed a number of small landscape studies in a distinctive stippled technique, allowing him to render extraordinary detail. The mood of these landscapes is subdued; classical figures recline and play music beside a tranquil lake. However, their anthropomorphic trees and the suggestion of the vastness of the surrounding landscape foreshadow what was to become Martin’s central theme: the smallness and helplessness of man against the infinite powers of the universe.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
160064
label
A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
160064
contentType
drawing
title
A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake
description
Martin is best known for his grandiose, apocalyptic visions of approaching doom, drawn from the Bible or mythology. But these two landscapes, created as pendants, reveal a less known aspect of his work. Martin executed a number of small landscape studies in a distinctive stippled technique, allowing him to render extraordinary detail. The mood of these landscapes is subdued; classical figures recline and play music beside a tranquil lake. However, their anthropomorphic trees and the suggestion of the vastness of the surrounding landscape foreshadow what was to become Martin’s central theme: the smallness and helplessness of man against the infinite powers of the universe.
date
1820
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79980668
creators
2786
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 19.7 x 26.8 cm (7 3/4 x 10 9/16 in.)
cul
England, 19th century
accession
1997.39
Source extras
tec
brown wash with graphite
tombstone
A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake, 1820. John Martin (British, 1789–1854). Brown wash with graphite; sheet: 19.7 x 26.8 cm (7 3/4 x 10 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1997.39
collection
DR - British
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:18:27.484000
sourceId
160064
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - British
med
brown wash with graphite
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
38281d6ba8dcb8fa