The Fall of the Rebel Angels
1825
John Martin was the ultimate blockbuster artist of the 19th century, obsessed with apocalyptic doom and tiny figures facing giant disasters. This dramatic scene illustrates the moment from Milton's *Paradise Lost* where Satan and his rebel angels are hurled from Heaven into the abyss. The sheer vertical drop and the stark contrast between the blinding light above and the pitch-black chasm below create a terrifying sense of scale. Martin created a whole series of these mind-bending illustrations for a special edition of the poem, cementing his reputation as the 'master of the sublime'.
Views: 1