The Fall of Nineveh

This works depicts Martin’s tumultuous imaginings of Old Testament biblical scenes of catastrophe, a popular theme for the 19th-century Romantic movement. Martin was particularly interested in illustrating the origins of the world through acts of human vengeance and divine wrath. The drama of these scenes is enhanced by their coloration, but it is not known whether Martin applied the color himself.

The Fall of Ninevah illustrates the overthrow of King Sardanapalus’s city. Rather than become captive to his mutinous generals, Sardanapalus chose to order himself burned with all of his possessions, including his harem.