Moses Zamora
Liberty University
Arts 209: Arts as Communication
Dr. Barron Bell
August 17, 2023
Critical Analysis Essay
Artist: John Martin
Title of Painting: Pandemonium
Date of Painting: 1841
Location of Art: The Louvre, Paris
If one did not know the back story of Pandemonium, they could mistake it for a story of
bravery and glory. At first glance, one might mistake the man-like figures on the cliff for a
spartan soldiers, with spear and shield in hand, ready to do battle. Standing on the cliff unfazed,
looking past the broken ground, full of fire and lava, towards a capitol-like building ready to
conquer it. With the capitol building, tall and daunting in the night sky, possibly filled with
enemy combatants and a most certain death, Pandemonium could evoke feelings of fearlessness
and valor.
Pandemonium comes together to create an asymmetrical balance, with the soldiers’
smaller size and statue, when compared to the capitol building. The capitol appears much bigger
and weightier. These proportions give it a very accurate scale. The black and different shades of
red also come off as weightier in contrast to the capitol’s light tan color. Pandemonium has two
different rhythm patterns, alternating and eccentric. Alternating has to do with the capitol’s
columns, which are very linear and side by side in sequence. The eccentric rhythm comes from
the broken ground, fire, and lightening, which show chaotic shapes and irregular angles. The
main focal point, or emphasis, would be the soldier who is standing on a cliff in the forefront of
the painting. The capitol building serves as the background focal point, or accent.
Although, these attributes give Pandemonium an abundance of variety, the painting is
very unified. For instance, the capitol’s smooth and straight lines and the fire and lightening’s
sharp angles come together in a very harmonious manner. Even the different colors complement
each other and offer a point of solid cohesion. The vivid reds and dark black colors that are used
for the fire and lava give tremendous depth and light. With the capitol being such a light tan
color, it pops in the night sky. These colors symbolize a vision of hell on earth, which accompany
feelings of war, despair, and chaos. The different shades of red, which indicate danger, help pass
a “nightmarish lighting effect”. (Kren) This is also where the feelings of bravery might come
from. Seeing what hell on earth could possibly be, and these two soldiers staring into the abyss,
one standing already triumphant and victorious.
Unfortunately, this is not what Pandemonium is about. This painting is an illustration
created from the passage of John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. In this passage, Satan stands in
marvel, before his palace and capitol of Hell. This capitol was built to house all of Hell’s demons
so they could come together and plot on how to challenge and destroy mankind. This perfectly
explains the meaning of the Greek word, Pandemonium, which is, “all demons”.
John Martin created this piece of art because of an American publisher, Samuel Prowett.
When Mr. Prowett wanted illustrations of poems from John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”, he went to
seek out John Martin. Martin, who was born on July 19, 1789 in Northumberland, England, was
an artist who was motivated by the Romantic Era movement of art. With Martin also painting
during the Regency Era, which was an era of cultural refinement, the imbrication of the Regency
and Romantic Era showed through Martin’s work. One could think that because of how dark and
demonic Pandemonium seems, that Martin was in a dark or depressed time in life, but its quite
the opposite. Even though Martin endured the passing of his father, mother, and youngest son all
in the same year, this did not deter his work. Even after his paintings, Martin invented London’s
Thames Embankment, which would solve their sewage and water issues.
After learning about Pandemonium, Satan, and his demon filled capitol, one’s feelings of
bravery and glory might change to despair and evil. Although, these feelings are easy to
misinterpret with a quick glance, a certainty is that Pandemonium is an amazing art piece whose
beauty transcends its ungodly passage. Furthermore, regardless of the feelings that one might
have while viewing Pandemonium, the viewer will leave in awe of how realistically captivating
John Martin’s work is.
