More famous than Turner or Constable in his day, John Martin was the superstar of his generation. Not only was he to become the `Grandfather' of the Hudson River School, at whose feet Thomas Cole sat in wonder, but also the `Grandfather of Hollywood', as D. W. Griffiths drew heavily on his images for his sets. He based scenes for Intolerance, 1916, arguably the most eminent of all the silent movies, on John Martin's mezzotints. Subsequently Cecil B. de Mille also drew from the images of John Martin, although the main influence on his `epics' was from the Roman scenes of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. At the Royal Academy in 1851 John Martin exhibited a similar composition to our painting from a slightly different viewpoint. (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge). In the 1840's Martin's landscapes softened into haze around the margins so as to lie at ease on the paper, they invite the onlooker to become absorbed, by almost imperceptible degrees, into the central and fully formulated area of each composition.(1) John Martin exhibited eight different views of Richmond Park at the Royal Academy between 1844 and 1852, one of which was in 1847 (number 950 View in Richmond Park). 1. William Feaver, The Art of John Martin, Oxford University Press 1975, page 154