The Assuaging of the Waters by John Martin

After Queen Victoria's Coronation on June 28, 1838, a flurry of prominent artists aimed to capture the event on canvas. Among them was John Martin, who approached the task with a unique twist. Instead of merely focusing on the central event, he aimed to encompass the entire congregation in intricate portrait detail. This clever approach involved inviting attendees to sit for portraits, while those who declined had their images gleaned from existing portraits. The strategy paid off as visits to his studio led to the viewing and purchase of artworks from his collection. Additionally, smaller preparatory portrait images were acquired once the Coronation painting was completed. This tactic proved an excellent way for Martin to raise his profile within the aristocracy.

Prince Albert's visit to view the Coronation painting resulted in the commission of a painting from a proposed trilogy that expanded upon Martin's earlier work, "The Deluge – The Eve of the Flood." Not to be outdone, Harriet, 2nd Duchess of Sutherland, swiftly commissioned the third in the series, "The Assuaging of the Waters." Correspondence between the Duchess and John Martin followed, ensuring that the subject matter aligned with the Duchess's taste for decor in her residence. Unlike Martin's original portrayal of corpses and aquatic creatures, the revised version featured sea-shells and vegetation, aligning with the Duchess's preferences.

Described by his biographer William Feaver, "The Assuaging of the Waters" depicts "a few relics of the antediluvian world preserved, like trinkets, on the slowly surfacing peaks of Mount Ararat." However, Feaver was unaware that Harriet had edited the original, darker composition.

The initial version of "The Deluge" was painted in 1826 and exhibited at the British Institution. Martin included a quote from Byron's poem "Heaven and Earth" in the accompanying pamphlet. Despite its exhibition, the painting remained unsold until Martin's mezzotint reproduction in 1828 led to successful sales. He then painted a second version in 1834, which won a Gold Medal at the Paris Salon in 1835. The notion of a trilogy on this subject had long been brewing in Martin's mind; a watercolor titled "The Assuaging of the Waters" was displayed in 1838. Feaver's notes suggest that the oil version of "The Eve of the Deluge" was likely started before Prince Albert's visit in 1840.

Martin's distinctive style, featuring towering cliffs and scenes of calamity, became his trademark early on. Raised in Haydon Bridge, Tyneside, an area characterized by imposing cliffs, wild moorland, and ruins like Hadrian's Wall, Martin's childhood memories of catastrophic floods influenced his paintings' sublime and picturesque landscapes. According to Feaver, Martin, the artist of floods, apocalyptic visions, and disordered time scales, was ideally formed by his upbringing.

The trilogy's pieces are now held by The Royal Collection ("The Eve of the Deluge"), the Yale Center for British Art ("The Deluge"), and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco ("The Assuaging of the Waters"). The Tate Gallery owns "The Coronation." The trilogy hadn't been publicly exhibited together until 1997 when the Yale Center for British Art curated an exhibition titled "John Martin: Visions of the Biblical Flood."