Neapolitan School Vesuvius Erupting at Night 1845

An original mid-19th-century gouache painting, Neapolitan School, Vesuvius Erupting at Night 1845.

This impressive, good-sized (18 x 25cm / 7 x 10") gouache or 'guazzo' of the Neapolitan School shows the 1845 eruption of Vesuvius, dramatically lighting up the night sky and causing cascades of lava to flow down the flanks of the volcano towards the sea.

Intensely coloured and animated by small figures, the painting is typical of the vedute style that flourished in Naples during this period to meet popular demand from wealthy Grand Tourists for souvenirs of the city. The anonymous artists of the Neapolitan School employed specific motifs and colours which today can be considered a unique, iconic visual language.

Vesuvius as pictorial icon was uniquely powerful; depicted at night it visually allowed for dramatic contrast of light and dark, fire and shadow, intensifying the viewer's emotional response. This was a time when the spectacle of Vesuvius drew travellers, artists, writers and natural philosophers from across Europe, eager to experience first-hand the feelings of awe that fuelled the Romantic imagination. The inclusion of figures in the scene was critical in siting the viewer within the action—the power of the spectacle defined by its effect on the human psyche.

On wove paper with hand-drawn border laid down on pale green backing paper.

Provenance: from a Victorian travel album belonging to Florinda Bookey (1832–1916) of Duninga House, Duninga, Kilkenny, Ireland who in 1867 married William Greenwood (d.1887), Ceylon coffee planter.