The Plains of Heaven

1857

Charles Mottram after John Martin

Associated Names
Charles Mottram

Artist, British, 1807 - 1876

John Martin

Artist After, British, 1789 - 1854

This print features a vast landscape seen from a high vantage point. Rolling hills filled with greenery wrap around a blue body of water in the center of the print. In the distance, pale blue mountains blend in with the sky. Colorful flowers fill the hill closest to us, below the center of the print. White shapes gather at the top of the hill, appearing to be women in billowing white dresses. One holds a large harp or bow. Some of the women seem to jump off of the hill, becoming translucent wisps against the blue water below them, which is dotted with long, brown boats.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    hand colored mezzotint with etching and engraving, printed in color on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    image: 62.1 x 95.5 cm (24 7/16 x 37 5/8 in.)
    sheet: 103 x 71.2 cm (40 9/16 x 28 1/16 in.)
    overall (frame size): 86.4 x 116.8 cm (34 x 46 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2002.30.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Campbell Fine Art, London; purchased 2002 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2006

  • The Artist's Vision: Romantic Traditions in Great Britain, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2006 - 2007

Bibliography

2002

  • Campbell Fine Art, British and European Prints 18th - 20th Centuries, Catalogue no. 9. London, 2002: no. 104

Wikidata ID

Q76337313

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