Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon by John Martin

The British painter and printmaker John Martin made his reputation with sublime scenes of vast spaces overwhelmed by classical architecture and countless figures. He made this drawing in preparation for the painting that launched his future successes: Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon (United Grand Lodge of England, London, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1816, reproduced in lithograph and two mezzotints in 1827). It shows Joshua, the Old Testament commander of the Israelite armies, standing on the rocky outcropping in the foreground. He commands the sun and moon to stop in their courses so that the Israelites may destroy their fleeing enemies-the Amorites, who had been attacking the city of Gibeon-in the prolonged daylight (Joshua 10:12-13).