Existing comment:
Eruption of Vesuvius, ca 1780
The volcano Vesuvius, which destroyed the ancient cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii in AD 79, was active throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and excited intense interest among travelers because of its unique combination of scientific and historic associations. Artists from all over Europe, representing different aesthetic approaches, also traveled to southern Italy to observe and paint Vesuvius. Some of them recorded the eruptions to illustrate the new science of geology, some emphasized the awesome and terrifying powers of nature they represented, and some simply painted the volcano's picturesque aspects.
Pierre-Jacques Volaire settled in Naples, not far from Vesuvius, where he became famous for his "sublime" depictions of the volcano. In this painting, the power of Vesuvius with its fiery lava and exploding gases dwarfs the figures watching in the foreground. Volaire not only painted a volcano, but also humanity's encounter with this majestic and mysterious spectacle of nature. |