Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still

1827 · Print

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still” now? Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.

National Gallery of Art

Washington, D.C., United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 13 days ago
In this state since: Aug 19, 2026
Source: The museum

On the map Museum page

Details

Accession number: 2002.65.3

What it shows

Panorama Battle Sun Rock Building Figures Warriors Lightning

In the catalog

Prints Mezzotint Neoclassicism Romanticism 19th century British Romantic

Sources

National Gallery of Art
Image: National Gallery of Art — Museum open access

In the life of John Martin

The whole life

1825–1827
The “Paradise Lost” engravings are published
Prowett issues four separate editions of the engravings in monthly instalments — the first appears on 20 March 1825 and the last in 1827; notable prints include “Pandæmonium” and “Satan Presiding at the Infernal Council”, remarkable for the science-fiction element in their architecture, and “Bridge over Chaos”, arguably Martin’s most dramatic composition.
c. 1827 – 1828
Turns from painting to engineering schemes
From about these years Martin turns away from painting and becomes absorbed in engineering plans and inventions, above all London’s water and sewage problems; his schemes include railways on both banks of the Thames, laminating timber, lighthouses and draining islands. Having grown up near one of Britain’s most active coal-mining centres, he keeps a lifelong interest in the infrastructure and safety of mines.
February 1829
His brother Jonathan sets fire to York Minster
His elder brother, the nonconformist Jonathan Martin, deliberately sets fire to York Minster, causing extensive damage; an onlooker likens the scene to John’s paintings, and his profile rises further. John pays for his brother’s defence at the trial out of his own money: “Mad Martin” is found guilty but is spared the hangman’s noose on the grounds of insanity.

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