The Deluge

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.

1831–1835

Publishes his own illustrations to the Old Testament

Inspired by Prowett’s venture, Martin publishes his own illustrations to accompany the Old Testament, but the project is a serious drain on his resources and not very profitable; he sells his remaining stock to Charles Tilt, who republishes the prints in a folio album in 1838 and in a smaller format in 1839.

1833

A diorama of “Belshazzar’s Feast”

A 2,000-square-foot (190 m²) version of “Belshazzar’s Feast” is mounted at the British Diorama; Martin tries, but fails, to shut the display down with a court order. Another diorama of the picture will be staged in New York in 1835: they are tremendous successes with audiences, but wound the artist’s reputation in the serious art world.

1834

A plan for London’s sewerage

Martin’s plans for London’s sewerage anticipate by some 25 years the 1859 proposals of Joseph Bazalgette for intercepting sewers with walkways along both banks of the Thames; he himself proposes a Thames embankment containing a central drainage system.

1838

The worst of his depression

Debt and family pressures, including the suicide of his nephew Richard, Jonathan’s son, bring on a depression in Martin that reaches its worst in 1838.

1839

His fortunes recover from 1839

Martin’s fortunes recover, and during the 1840s he exhibits many works, among them “The Eve of the Deluge” (1840).