Critically derided during his ascendancy to populist acclaim during the 19th century, John Martin’s cataclysmic painted visions of apocalyptic doom have come full circle with a new exhibition at the Tate Britain. Opening in October 2011 at the London gallery, the Apocalypse exhibition featured Martin’s most iconic works brought together from various different collections from around the world.
The influence of his work can be seen in full cinematic form in every apocalypse movie that has ever graced the big screens over recent years thanks to the developments in CGI. However, perhaps its biggest legacy is the awe inspiring, fear inducing reality of religious depictions and their potential influence on the human psyche, helping to explain the grip religion has had on society for thousands of years.
It’s often said that it’s no surprise that the Roman Catholic religion came to dominate huge swathes of the world with its religious doctrine thanks to the power of its imagery, but when you factor in the scenes of apocalypse and biblical disasters depicted by Martin, the full force of religion can be seen for all its intense power and influence. Impressive visual demonstrations of the might of the church has been a key part in its proliferation down the ages and Martin’s work highlights the more negative elements of that vice-like grip.
Nobody wants to be cursed, jinxed or otherwise on the wrong end of the deity stick and despite our logical summation of the facts it’s easy to get carried away with the fear of superstition or religious condemnation. It’s hard to see us ever shaking off the shackles of this kind of dread and in John Martin’s work it’s easy to see why.
The Tate Britain has brought together the John Martin: Apocalypse exhibition in partnership with Newcastle’s Laing Gallery to showcase the artist’s more recent appreciation in the art world. The display was on show until the 15th January 2012, a year that was tipped with apocalyptic prognostications, but luckily for all of us didn’t mark the end.
Paintings that featured included The Great Day of his Wrath (1853), a massive enfolding drama of destruction and human death at the hands of a vengeful god. If you missed the exhibition, you can check it out in the image above or in the trailer below. Admission was £14 for adult tickets and £12 for concessions.
