An ink and wash drawing depicting a rocky pond. The two small trees in the lower right are framed by dark mountains and a dramatic sky behind them.
An ink and wash drawing depicting a rocky pond. The two small trees in the lower right are framed by dark mountains and a dramatic sky behind them.
An ink and wash drawing depicting a rocky pond. The two small trees in the lower right are framed by dark mountains and a dramatic sky behind them.
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John Martin

A Rocky Pool

Maker

John Martin (British, 1789-1854)

Title

A Rocky Pool

Year

ca. 1824-1854

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

wash technique

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

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund

Object Number

74.118

Type

Exhibition History

Drawing Closer
Four Hundred Years of Drawing from the RISD Museum
Mar 12, 2022 – Sep 04, 2022

Label copy

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.

The English Eye
British Painting from the 17th to the 19th Centuries; Contemporary British Art; Old Master British Drawings and Watercolors; British Picture Books for Children; Three Centuries of British Decorative Arts, Textiles, and Costume
Jun 21, 1991 – Sep 01, 1991

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

John Martin (British, 1789-1854)
A Rocky Pool, ca. 1824-1854
Brush and wash over graphite and charcoal with scratched highlights on wove paper
16.5 x 23.3 cm (6 1/2 x 9 3/16 inches)
Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund 74.118

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