




The Last Judgement by John Martin is a very interesting painting which can be analyzed in several different ways. There are a few aspects to this painting as a whole. It is broken up into three separate sections that each represent different phases of life. Living on earth, in Hell, or in Heaven are all depicted in this image. The painting is clearly divided into these three individual sections. The first shows life on Earth with a group of people and civilization similar to that of Ancient Greece in the Background. Heaven is represented through the use of many angels and what seems to be one man at the helm of them all, God. The final part of this painting is Hell which is shown through the use of dark images and dark colors. Lines are what divides the painting into three sections. These aren’t physical lines, however they are depicted through changing colors and nature of imagery. This designed division is making the audience recognize the three different parts of the painting. This is very effective as it forces the audience to consider every aspect of the text and not just focus on a single part. The Last Judgement by John Martin is a great text to view in detail and with closer precision.

John Martin decisively targets all of mankind in this painting. The reason for this being that it shows current life for all people on earth. The bringing up of society and a civilization in this painting is what directly addresses those people who are currently living on Earth, which is all of mankind. Martin’s purpose in speaking to this gigantic audience was to bring to their attention that you will end up in one of two places, Heaven or Hell. There isn’t any text that goes along with this image, however if there was it would say something along the lines of “choose wisely, your decisions matter.” This would be a great line to go along with this image. The reason for this being that it shows current life in the world and then the two possibilities of the afterlife. Martin is obviously showing both sides of the possible destinations for all people. This is a great tactic by Martin as he expresses this ideal of choosing your own path by showing two possible destinations and current life for the audience now. Martin’s implied text should be taken into serious consideration by the audience.

This painting is showing the audience these two different possible endings of their lives. Along with this, Martin is advising them to be careful with their decisions because you will end up in one of these two destinations. The Last Judgement represents the things that you do in your life which will ultimately decide whether you go to Heaven or Hell. It is these decisions which are so critical to each individual person’s final result. This is the message which Martin is trying to bring up to his audience, that you really are choosing your own path with how you go about living life. Martin cleverly uses these images or symbols of life, Heaven and Hell to lure the audience into following his underlying message. The first symbol of life on Earth has natural colors and images to show the starting point of every person. Heaven is depicted as a desired destination with the use of light colors and soothing imagery. Hell is clearly shown as a dark and desolate place by using extremely dark colors and showing people struggling in agony. These three images are extremely effective to the audience because it forces them to notice each symbol and just how different they really are. These symbols implemented by John Martin truly get his message across to the audience of making careful decisions to end up in the place where you want to be which is Heaven, not Hell. 

This painting doesn’t necessarily appeal to the viewer’s emotions as the painting has a dark and almost angry part of it in Hell. It almost seems as if Hell is taking over both Earth and Heaven in this image. This is shown through the black images curling towards heaven in the upper-right side of the picture. Once again, Martin uses color difference to get his message across to the audience. The dark color wheel clearly shows a negative aspect of life. The viewer is generally not appealed to this text because of the representation of Hell and all of its darkness. The argument drawn out by Martin is clear and concise. He is trying to depict Hell as a terrible place and Heaven as an amazing place. Along with this, he is trying to persuade the reader to do everything they can to go to Heaven as it is a choice made by your actions. This assumption is shown by Martin’s division into three images instead of just one whole painting. The supporting evidence in this photo is that all three parts of the divided image are extremely different. They are each an individual representation of every aspect of life. The first of these is current life on Earth and the next two are contrasts of the afterlife between Heaven and Hell. Martin supports his claim very well by showing evidence of how different each of these worlds in this painting truly are.

This photograph by John Martin is truly amazing as it can function in many different pieces of literature. One specific piece that comes to mind is the Bible. Martin’s visual text could be used in many ways in the Bible. An example of this would be God’s forgiveness of sins. God is the forgiver of all sins, but this image can be utilized in the Bible to show those reading just how great God really is. If it wasn’t for his forgiveness, you could be going to Hell and not Heaven. This painting would be a great contributing factor to this aspect as it would scare the reader by depicting what Hell is actually like. Also, it would force the audience to come to realize God’s true power and how great he really is in his forgiveness of all sins. Without this forgiveness, you could end up in a Hell similar to The Last Judgement by John Martin. That is why this painting is truly amazing. It shows the viewer all three worlds and gives them a choice in their actions. It can also be used in many other different contexts such as the Bible. The Last Judgement by John Martin is a great visual text to analyze closely because of its underlying message and variety of meanings to each individual reader.


