John Martin (1789-1854) was an Romantic painter. The painting is the Eve of the Deluge, and seems to be about the moments before God wipes out man with the exception of Noah and the other chosen to survive the Deluge. The scene is right before God will send the flood that will kill all men on Earth, except for Noah. This is part of series painted by Martin showing the different stages of the Deluge, this being the first in the series. The Romanticism era was a result of the Industrial Revolution, which many intellectuals and artists saw as destroying nature. Most Romantic paintings give off very emotional, perhaps morbid, and mysterious themes. They emphasize changes in light, color, and self-expression. The Eve of the Deluge follows this because of the background, which is brighter than the foreground and give a mysterious and perhaps fearful tone to the painting. The painting extends beyond the standard religious painting because Martin gives it his own Romantic touch, excellent use of color and light off the mountains to give a feeling of epic proportions. The Romantic era tried to oppose the Industrial Revolution by painting art that had no firm and straight lines or dull colors, which would give the ideas of machinery or factories, which the artists opposed.
