Manfred on the Jungfrau (1837)

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Manfred on the Jungfrau

John Martin, 1837

Watercolour

38.4 × 57.5 cm

Manfred On The Jungfrau is an 1837 watercolour artwork created by artist John Martin. The concept for the painting was inspired by certain elements and scenes from Lord Byron's poem Manfred, specifically Act I scene II.

[edit] Analysis

This work depicts a man, Manfred, preparing to throw himself from the Jungfrau mountain. In Byron's poem he is pulled back from the edge just before leaping by a horrified chamois hunter, who then leads him back to safety. The relationship between Act I scene II of Byron's poem is evident; the episode taken from this scene is this:

“

...And you, ye crags upon whose extreme edge I stand, and on the torrent's brink beneath Behold the tall pines dwindled as to shrubs In dizziness of distance, when a leap, A stir, a motion, even a breath, would bring My breast upon its rocky bosom's bed To rest for ever - wherefore do I pause? ...Thou winged and cloud-cleaving minister, Whose happy flight is highest into heaven, Well may'st thou swoop so near me... ...How beautiful is all this visible world! How glorious in its action and itself!

”

In the time that the artwork was created, 'man and nature' was a theme that was popular among romantic artists and writers, and influences of this are evident within this watercolour work. Images of figures standing on cliff tops, about to throw themselves off to their death were quite common among the artworks and writings which shared this theme.

Three years after Martin completed his version, Ford Madox Brown produced another painting entitled Manfred on the Jungfrau. This later oil-on-canvas version depicts Manfred up close, with his facial features and a look of horror clearly visible, as well as the same chamois hunter. ^[1] Brown's version, despite being painted later, is probably the more renowned of the two works.

[edit] References