Artwork

The Seconda Macchina for the Chinea of 1767: Mount Etna with the Forge of Vulcan

The Seconda Macchina for the Chinea of 1767: Mount Etna with the Forge of Vulcan is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Giuseppe Vasi. It dates from 1767 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Inscription: Inscribed:Lettered LL: "Cavaliere Paolo Posi Architetto" Lettered LC: "Giuseppe Palazzi disegno' " Lettered LR: "Giuseppe Vasi incise" Lettered LC, below image: "Disegno della Seconda Machina rappresentante il Monte Etna gia' rinomato per la favolosa Fucina di Vulcano ... 29 Giugno 1767 ... CLEMENTE XIII"

About this work

It’s not a painting, it’s an etching, which means the artist scratched the design into metal.

This print shows a wild scene of a volcano erupting. Smoke and fire shoot high into the sky. Below, people and animals scramble around a stage set that looks like a mountain.

The tiny text at the bottom says this was made for a big event in 1767. It’s not a painting, it’s an etching, which means the artist scratched the design into metal.

Look up etching to see how this printmaking technique works.

Overview

Giuseppe Vasi’s 1767 etching titled The Seconda Macchina for the Chinea of 1767: Mount Etna with the Forge of Vulcan depicts a dramatic volcanic eruption. Rendered in black‑and‑white line work, the image combines natural disaster with theatrical staging, presenting a mountain spewing fire and smoke while figures and animals move about a constructed set.

Subject & Meaning

The composition centers on Mount Etna, personified as the forge of the god Vulcan. The eruptive plume dominates the sky, while a crowd of people and livestock navigate a fabricated stage that mimics the mountain’s slopes, suggesting a blend of mythic symbolism and contemporary spectacle.

Technique & Style

Executed as an etching, Vasi incised the design onto a copper plate, allowing fine linear detail and tonal variation through varying depths of bite. The print’s stark contrasts and intricate hatching convey both the turbulence of the eruption and the ordered arrangement of the staged figures.

History & Provenance

The work was produced for the Chinea, a ceremonial tribute to the Pope that featured elaborate pageants in 1767. The small inscription at the bottom confirms its purpose as a visual record of the second machine (macchina) used in that year’s festivities, linking the print to a specific historical event.