John Martin's 'Apocalyse'

Yesterday we went to see the first dedicated exhibition in over 30 years of the paintings and prints of John Martin - 'Apocalypse' at Tate Britain.

John Martin is from Northumberland so is a local boy done good and the Laing Gallery in Newcastle has a good collection of his works.  I went to the Laing a few times in my teens and only remember a few Pre-Raphaelites and a few John Martins - I can't remember the names of the Pre-Raphaelite painters but I remembered his name.  I visited the Laing again a couple of years ago and headed straight for the two Martin's on display at the time - he may not be the best painter ever to pick up a brush but he makes an impression. 

The first painting you come to is 'The Bard' (on loan from The Laing) and this epitomises Martin's works for me - grand scale, impossibly dramatic and romantic, and peopled with the teeming millions of people, tiny against an immense background. On the right on top of a mountain is the last Welsh bard and on the other side of the gorge is the army of Edward I hunting him down.  The scene is dramatic and is the perfect still from a blockbuster film to draw you in.  In reality, of course, it's made up.  The mountains in Wales aren't like that at all and the army wasn't anything like that, winding round and up and down the mountain passes. But why spoil a good scene? 

The word 'blockbuster' kept cropping up in the exhibition and it accurately reflects a modern take on the paintings - they are blockbusters.  The leaflet you're given on the way in suggests how Martin has influenced films, record covers, fiction and music and, if you squint slightly, there's a clear route from Martin to a Yes album cover.  The domes of his new Jerusalem could easily be at home with our modern visions of living on the Moon or on Mars.

One thing 'The Bard' lacks is the colour red, a colour Martin obvious fell in love with for some of his most dramatic paintings.  The red of Vesuvius exploding and raining down hell on Pompeii or the red of 'The Destruction of Sodom and Gomoraah'.  'Sodom' depicts a fire burning out of control, wreaking havoc and destruction in all directions and you can almost feel the heat radiating out at you.  Then there's the darker red and black of 'Pandemonium' when Satan's city rises intact from the lava with an endless army ready for the final battles.  I told you he was dramatic.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is a sound and light extravaganza for his 'Last Judgement' triptych, three giant canvases the size of one of the walls of your house (yes, *your* walls) that went on tour in the 1850s around Britain and America. It's a great idea to try to replicate the experience with the three giant paintings side by side, illuminated and darkened to a soundtrack of someone explaining the subject matter with real showmanship.  The show last about 15 minutes and is held every half hour and is a great way to see the paintings.

It's a grand exhibition in all senses of the word.  A good selection of his works, enough of them to be substantial and a good experience but not including every last sketch he ever made and watering down the experience.  We were there for about one and a half hours which felt about right to be wowed and over-awed but not too long and not pummelled to the our knees by the sheer weight of the drama.

 If you get the chance then go and see it - I'd recommend this exhibition any day!  John Martin may not be the best painter of people but is unsurpassed in drama!