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Ruins of an Ancient City
John Martin (British, 1789–1854)c. 1810–20
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
The painting depicts an imagined scene of a ruined ancient city bathed in the nostalgic glow of twilight. The artist's detailed, almost archeological, interest in these Greek or Roman buildings is characteristic of neoclassicism, although the composition—which plunges suddenly from the foreground into a deep valley—and dramatic lighting are typical of Romantic painting.
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Details
- Title: Ruins of an Ancient City
- Creator: John Martin (British, 1789–1854)
- Date Created: c. 1810–20
- Physical Dimensions: Framed: 118.5 x 142 x 8 cm (46 5/8 x 55 7/8 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 95.6 x 118.6 cm (37 5/8 x 46 11/16 in.)
- Provenance: William Ropner, 1864-1947 (West Hartlepool, England), by 1898, when it was withdrawn from a Christie's sale., Privat collection (sold, Christie's, London, 24 November 1978, lot 160) as An Extensive Classical Landscape with a Ruined City, ca. 1812-15, for £6,000 to Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox., Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, (London, England), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981.
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1981.13
- Medium: oil on paper, mounted on canvas
- Inscriptions: Signed lower right: j. martin
- Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
- Culture: England, 19th century
- Credit Line: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
- Collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960
- Accession Number: 1981.13
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