‘Satan Watching the Ascent to Heaven’, by John Martin

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Satan Watching the Ascent to Heaven

John Martin

Mezzotint engraved by John Martin

10 x 9 inches

Milton, Paradise Lost, 1827

An illustration of transcendental beauty and intensity in which Satan contemplates the stairway to Heaven. [Commentary continues below.]

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Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke.

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The contrast between the downward and upward destinations is dramatized visually in the striking contrast between absolute blackness and piercing light that emanates from the celestial zone. Here, especially, Martin demonstrates his technical mastery of the mezzotint’s capacity to produce the extremes of black and white, which he deploys to convey the subject’s dichotomy of good/bad in a visual metaphor.

Bibliography

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. With mezzotints by John Martin. London: Prowett, 1827.

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Created 10 October 2021