''The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum'' is a large 1822 painting by English artist

John Martin John Martin may refer to: Business *John Martin (businessman) (1820–1905), American lumberman and flour miller *John Charles Martin (fl. 1913–1931), American newspaper publisher *John Martin (publisher) (born 1930), American founder of Black ...

of the

eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD Of the many eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, a major stratovolcano in southern Italy, the best-known is its eruption in 79 AD, which was one of the deadliest in European history. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD is one of the best-known in h ...

. It follows the pattern set by his previous successful painting, '' Belshazzar's Feast'', which was another depiction of a dramatic scene from history delivered from an esoteric point of view. The work appeared to be lost from the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

storerooms soon after it was damaged by the

1928 Thames flood The 1928 Thames flood was a disastrous flood of the River Thames that affected much of riverside London on 7 January 1928, as well as places further downriver. Fourteen people died and thousands were made homeless when floodwaters poured over ...

, however it was rediscovered in 1973 and subsequently restored in 2011.

The painting

Martin was (unusually) commissioned to paint the subject by Richard Greville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, who paid 800 guineas. The painting is a monumental canvas by which depicts a view from

Stabiae Stabiae () was an ancient city situated near the modern town of Castellammare di Stabia and approximately 4.5 km southwest of Pompeii. Like Pompeii, and being only from Mount Vesuvius, this seaside resort was largely buried by tephra ash ...

across the

Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

towards the doomed cities of

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

and

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the nea ...

during the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. The background is dominated by the apocalyptic scene of the erupting volcano, which casts a red light over the rest of the painting. Some buildings excavated at Pompeii, including the Temple of Jupiter and the

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

, are visible in the middle distance. In the foreground are tiny figures of the fleeing citizens, including the dying

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

. Martin relied on the recently published '' Pompeiana'' (1819) by

William Gell Sir William Gell FRS (29 March 17774 February 1836) was a British classical archaeologist and illustrator. He published topographical illustrations of Troy and the surrounding area in 1804. He also published illustrations showing the results ...

and

John Peter Gandy John Peter Gandy (1787 – 2 March 1850 in Hanover Square, London), later John Peter Deering, was a British architect. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1847 to 1848. Family Gandy was the youngest of the ten children of Thomas Gandy ...

for background information on the Roman town, and on

Edwin Atherstone Edwin Atherstone (1788–1872) was a poet and novelist. His works, which were planned on an imposing scale, attracted some temporary attention and applause, but are now forgotten. His chief poem, ''The Fall of Nineveh'', consisting of thirty boo ...

's 1821 epic poem ''The Last Days of Herculaneum'', published with

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...

's letters to

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

on the eruption.

Reception

The purchasers of Martin's earlier paintings sent the paintings on tour in England as an advertisement for prints, to great commercial success, and Martin was determined to realise some value from his later paintings. The work was completed in 1822 and exhibited by Martin at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly in 1822 to great public acclaim but mixed critical reviews (the hall had hosted the London exhibition of Géricault's ''

The Raft of the Medusa ''The Raft of the Medusa'' (french: Le Radeau de la Méduse ) – originally titled ''Scène de Naufrage'' (''Shipwreck Scene'') – is an oil painting of 1818–19 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault (1791� ...

'' in 1820). Martin sold a pamphlet explaining the composition. An article in the ''Morning Chronicle'' described Martin's painting as "the most extraordinary production of the pencil that has ever appeared in this or any other country". The exhibition received 50,000 visitors from March to July 1822. Martin subsequently painted a smaller version, by , which was sold to Sir John Leicester (later Baron de Tabley) in 1826, and which is now in the Tabley House Collection of the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

Provenance

The painting was added to the collection of the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos at

Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school and is owned by the Stowe House Preservation Trust who have to date (March 2013) spent more than £25m on th ...

until at least 1838 and it was inherited by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1839. It may have been displayed at Buckingham House in London before the 2nd Duke was declared bankrupt in 1847. Martin's painting was auctioned at Christie's in 1848 and bought by art dealer Charles Buttery for only £100, and he sold it to the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

in 1869 for £200. It was sent on long-term loan to the

Manchester City Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...

until 1918, when it was transferred to the

. By then, Martin was out of fashion, and the painting was consigned to a basement, where it was severely damaged by the

. Considered beyond repair, it was left rolled up and forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1973 by Christopher Johnstone, a research assistant at the gallery, when he was researching his book ''John Martin'' (1974). Johnstone found the damaged work rolled up inside the canvas of

Paul Delaroche Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (17 July 1797 – 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subjects from English ...

's painting ''

The Execution of Lady Jane Grey ''The Execution of Lady Jane Grey'' is an oil painting by Paul Delaroche, completed in 1833, which is now in the National Gallery in London. It was enormously popular in the decades after it was painted, but in the 20th century realist historica ...

'', which had also been forgotten and lost.

Restoration

Martin's painting was cleaned and restored in 2010–11 by Sarah Maisey, Clothworkers Fellow, and included in a major retrospective exhibition of Martin's work at the Tate Gallery in 2011–12. The original paintwork was in good condition, but a large area depicting the volcano and the cities – about a fifth of the whole – was missing. Maisey replaced the missing section, by drawing on photographs, Martin's smaller painting of the same subject, and an outline etching of the original,

References and sources

;References ;Sources
''The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection''
Victoria C. Gardner Coates, Kenneth D. S. Lapatin, Jon L. Seydl, Getty Publications, 2012, , p. 132-133
Tate Britain unveils John Martin’s lost masterpiece
Tate press release, 19 September 2011
John Martin's Pompeii painting finally restored after 1928 Tate flood damage
''The Guardian'', 19 September 2011

''The Telegraph'', 19 September 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum Paintings by John Martin Collection of the Tate galleries Mount Vesuvius Pompeii in popular culture 1822 paintings

The painting

Reception

Provenance

Restoration

See also

References and sources