John Martin’s painting of the 7th Plague 

‘Mrs Loudon said the idea of using steel rails on stone foundations should really be credited to William Martin, John Martin’s brother. She also remarked that the design of the great Arch in front of Euston Station reminded her of John Martin’s painting of The Seventh Plague of Egypt. She worried about the safety of trains.’ This is a quote from The Claudians: gardens, landscapes, reason and faith: John Claudius Loudon and Claudius Buchanan, Tom Turner (Kindle, 2024). 

Exploring John Martin's Artistic Vision and Its Influence on Landscape Architecture

Martin is known to have owned a copy of John Claudius Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Architecture and probably used it for architectural inspiration. The Seventh Plague, as painted by John Martin, refers to the biblical account found in the Book of Exodus 9:13-35. According to the Bible, the seventh plague inflicted upon Egypt by God was a devastating hailstorm. God instructed Moses to warn Pharaoh of an impending plague of hail, urging him to shelter his people and livestock to avoid destruction. The Pharaoh refused to heed Moses' words, and hail, mixed with fire, rained down upon the land of Egypt. The hail was so severe that it destroyed crops, trees, and any living thing left in the fields. Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites dwelled, was there no hail.

The Impact of John Martin’s Artwork on Architecture

John Martin, renowned for his dramatic and vivid depictions of biblical events, used his painting "The Seventh Plague of Egypt" to convey the catastrophic power of divine retribution. This painting illustrates a massive hailstorm, as described in the Book of Exodus, which ravaged Egypt and spared only the land of Goshen. Martin’s use of intense colours and sweeping compositions not only captured the imagination of his contemporaries but also influenced architectural design. His dramatic visual style, evident in his depiction of apocalyptic events, was noted by figures such as Mrs Loudon for its resemblance to the grand design elements seen in structures like the Arch at Euston Station. This crossover of artistic and architectural inspiration highlights how visual art can shape and reflect the architectural innovations of its time.