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John Martin

A Rocky Pool, ca. 1824 - 1854

Now On View

Description

Maker

Title

A Rocky Pool

Year

ca. 1824 - 1854

Medium

Brush and wash over graphite and charcoal with scratched highlights on wove paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Dimensions

16.5 x 23.3 cm (6 1/2 x 9 3/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Verso: inscribed in pen and ink in UL: "John Martin" (probably not in the artist's hand)

Inscribed in graphite: "Ex Branwhite collection of monocrhome drawings / Watermark Whatman 1825"

Watermark: Whatman 1825

Type

Credit

Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund

Object Number

74.118

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Drawing Closer

March 12 - September 4, 2022

In this landscape rocks encircle an eerily calm lake, beside which rise two scraggy trees. John Martin obtained this drawing’s richly saturated shadows by applying charcoal to the darkest areas before adding layers of ink wash on top. He created the flash of light in the sky and the highlights on the trees and water below it by scratching into the paper, exposing its white fibers. Dramatic contrasts of light and dark were important effects for Martin, who also was an accomplished printmaker in mezzotint, a technique defined by strong chiaroscuro.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is A Rocky Pool with the accession number of 74.118. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.