The artwork “Belshazzar’s Feast,” created by John Martin in 1820, is an oil painting rendered in the Romanticism art movement. It measures 159 by 250 centimeters and is classified as a religious painting. Currently, the artwork is housed at the Yale Centre for British Art at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States.
The painting depicts a grand and dramatic scene from the biblical story of Belshazzar’s feast, describing the fabled night when a disembodied hand wrote the prophesied doom on the wall of King Belshazzar’s palace. The composition is strikingly dynamic, capturing the ornate architecture of the Babylonian setting filled with opulent pillars and decorative elements. The vast, cavernous space is bathed in contrasting light and shadow, illuminating the petrified reactions of the revelers and the bewildered king in the foreground. The intricate detailing and sense of scale underscore the monumental quality of the scene, effectively portraying the momentous and divine intervention that spell the fall of Babylonian glory. Martin’s masterful use of light, perspective, and architectural splendor epitomizes the Romantic fascination with dramatic, historical, and supernatural themes.