Pandemonium
by John Martin, 1841
StyleRomanticism
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1841
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 123.8 cm × 184.2 cm
Cite or Embed This Work
APA · MLA · Chicago1-click academic citation and embeddable “On View” museum badge for articles, syllabi, and research.
John Martin executed this vision of Hell's capital city in 1841, inspired by Milton's Paradise Lost. Towering temple-like structures with Babylonian and classical elements stretch along a waterfront, wreathed in flames and smoke. Fallen angels gather in this infernal parliament.
Martin used sweeping diagonal perspective to convey the city's immense scale. He even designed the frame himself, decorating it with serpents and dragons. A companion piece, "The Celestial City," was exhibited alongside it at the Royal Academy. Martin had previously made two engravings of this scene in 1824 and 1831. Now at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
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About Pandemonium
Martin illustrated Paradise Lost by John Milton. Pandemonium is Hell's capital where Satan and the fallen angels convene. Milton invented the word, combining Greek roots meaning "all demons."
The painting hangs at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Martin exhibited it at the Royal Academy in 1841 alongside a companion piece, "The Celestial City."
John Martin (1789-1854) was a British Romantic painter famous for dramatic, apocalyptic scenes from the Bible and literature. He specialized in sublime visions of destruction and chaos.
The oil on canvas measures 123.8 x 184.2 cm (48.7 x 72.5 inches). Martin designed the elaborate frame himself, decorated with serpents and dragons fitting the hellish theme.
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