Belshazzar's Feast (Martin)

John Martin

1820 · Oil on canvas · Yale Center for British Art, New Haven

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Belshazzar's Feast (Martin)

The Great Day of His Wrath

Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt)

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Ships worldwide in 3–6 business days after production

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: John Martin (1789–1854)
Year: 1820
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 80 × 120.7 cm
Collection: Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Movement: Romanticism

In a colossal pillared hall open to the night sky, the Babylonian king Belshazzar recoils as a disembodied hand writes on the wall; the prophet Daniel, in black, stands at the centre to interpret the words, and crowds of feasting courtiers, wives and concubines turn in horror. Beyond rise the Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel under a stormy moon. The subject is from the Book of Daniel. Martin's large painting of it caused a sensation at the British Institution in 1821, where it won a prize and had to be railed off from the crowds; that canvas is in a private collection. This is one of two smaller versions of 1820 made alongside it, signed and dated by Martin, and it is in the Yale Center for British Art. Martin's mezzotint of the subject, published in 1826, was dedicated to George IV.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A colossal pillared hall open to a stormy moon with a hand writing on the wall, a theatrical picture for a dining room, study or den at 16×24 or 24×36 in black. Deep blue, charcoal or ochre; low lamplight suits it.

Style: Exhibition poster of a Romanticism painting
Era: 19th century (1820)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: grand
Rooms: living room, dining room, dorm room, hallway or entryway
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; 12×18 and 16×24 and 24×36 also available framed in black or natural wood • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Produced in 2–4 business days, then shipped from the facility nearest you. Delivery is typically 3–6 business days (US/UK/EU) and 5–12 worldwide. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is Belshazzar's Feast in the public domain?

Yes. John Martin (1789–1854) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Yale Center for British Art.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; the two larger sizes are also offered framed. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Belshazzar's Feast painted, and in what medium?

Belshazzar's Feast dates from 1820 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 80 × 120.7 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

For a standard three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 inches reads as a single statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pairing. The print's proportions follow the original, so a landscape-format painting is wider than it is tall.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of John Martin's Belshazzar's Feast — Belshazzar's Feast — the writing on the wall blazing above a colossal Babylonian hall of columns and terrified revellers — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Apocalypse: The Sublime Landscape, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Three sizes (12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in); the 16×24 and 24×36 are also offered framed. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

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The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in ~4–8 business days.

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