On a ledge, in red with a round shield, he raises his right arm.
Bible in art · Joshua
Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon
John Martin · 1816
National Gallery of Art, Washington
John Martin, an English painter in his mid-twenties, finished this canvas in 1816. He became famous for vast, dramatic scenes in which crowds of tiny figures are dwarfed by storms, mountains and cities. The National Gallery of Art in Washington bought it in 2004.
On a rocky ledge Joshua, in a red tunic with a round shield, raises his arm to the sky. To the left a valley lies under rain and dark cloud; to the right a white sun breaks through over a city of domes and temples, and armies stream along a winding road.
From the text
- Joshua calls on the sun to stand still over Gibeon (Joshua 10:12)
- The sun standing in the sky over the battle (Joshua 10:13)
- Hailstones on the fleeing armies — painted as a storm over the valley (Joshua 10:11)
- Israel pursuing its enemies (Joshua 10:10)
The artist’s own
- Gibeon as a vast city of domes, colonnades and temple fronts
- Joshua dressed like a soldier of ancient Greece, with helmet, round shield and spear
- Men in white robes and turbans beside him
- Light pouring through a great ring of clouds
Details
Joshua
Beside him
Men in long white robes and turbans lift their arms.
The sun
A white sun breaks through the dark cloud, its rays falling below.
The storm
Rain and dark cloud sweep over the valley.
The city
Domes, colonnades and temple fronts crowd the hill.
The army
Horsemen and soldiers stream along a winding road.
John Martin, British, 1789–1854. National Gallery of Art, Washington (Paul Mellon Fund, 2004.64.1) · Oil on canvas · NGA Open Access: "Images of these works are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial, under Creative Commons Zero (CC0)." (NGA open data: published_images.csv openaccess = 1)