The Eruption of Vesuvius, A View of Naples Beyond
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Mount Vesuvius’s red hot lava contrasts with the cool blue of the Bay of Naples by moonlight. Volaire learned the technical skills for light effects like these from the era’s preeminent French landscapist, Claude-Joseph Vernet, but he found the subject that would make him famous when he moved to Naples in 1769. His paintings held enormous appeal to Grand Tourists, many of whom visited the area to marvel at the active volcano that had destroyed the ancient city of Pompeii. Tiny human figures overwhelmed by nature’s awe-inspiring power are typical of an aes-thetic known as the Sublime, an important feature of later Romantic landscape painting.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Eruption of Vesuvius, A View of Naples Beyond
- Artist: Pierre Jacques Volaire (French, Toulon 1729–1799 Naples)
- Date: ca. 1776
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: Overall: 27 3/4 × 45 1/8 in. (70.5 × 114.6 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Promised Gift of Howard and Nancy Marks, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary
- Object Number: L.2023.24.2
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings