The Eruption of Vesuvius
1771
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
About the artist
Artist
Pierre-Jacques Volaire
Pierre-Jacques Volaire was a French painter.
See the richer artist page1771
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
The Eruption of Vesuvius is a 1771 oil by Pierre-Jacques Volaire, a Rococo painting work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
Bright orange lava pours from Mount Vesuvius, glowing against a dark night sky. Tiny people stand on the shore, watching the river of fire creep toward the water. Volaire painted this in 1771, when Vesuvius was erupting often. People were fascinated by the mix of beauty and danger. The same years brought the first digs at Pompeii, the city buried by the volcano long ago. For another dramatic night scene, look up the technique called *chiaroscuro*.
In this imposing composition, molten lava spews from the mouth of Mount Vesuvius in Italy and winds down the hillside towards the Bay of Naples. Energetic human figures observe the spectacle, their small scale emphasizing the volcano’s enormity. Vesuvius erupted six times between 1707 and 1794 and thus became a touchstone of popular culture at the time. This same period saw the first systematic excavations of Pompeii, the ancient city that Vesuvius famously destroyed in 79 CE. The romance of Vesuvius simultaneously wondrous and terrifying, ancient and contemporary—made it a frequent subject…
London art market [according to 1981 letter from Ingvar Bergström in curatorial file]. Gunnar Trägårdh, Gothenburg, Sweden [according to Bergström letter cited above]. Sold by Trägårdh to Dr. Sven Langert, Gothenburg, Sweden, in the 1930s; sold by his wife, Majken Langert, Christie’s, London, 26 November 1971, no. 85, to Ray Perman acting on behalf of Cyril Humphris and Herner Wengraf, London [according to Bergström letter cited above]. Sold Sotheby’s, London, 19 April 1978, no. 156 (ill.), to P. and D. Colnaghi and Co., London [letter from Magdalen Elwes, Colnaghi, 7 September 1983, in…
Detroit Institute of Arts and Art Institute of Chicago, "The Golden Age of Naples: Art and Civilization under the Bourbons, 1734–1805," 11 August–1 November 1981, 16 January–8 March 1982, no. 76. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California, "Eyewitness Views: Making History in Eighteenth-Century Europe," from May 9-July 30, 2017; traveled to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota from September 10-December 31, 2017, finally at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio from February 25-May 20, 2018, fig. 178.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Pierre-Jacques Volaire was a French painter.
See the richer artist page
