Art Institute of Chicago
The Eruption of Vesuvius
Pierre-Jacques Volaire (French, 1729–1799)LinkedCulture matchlcp-5aea7b7b32ac
- Date
- 1771
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Culture
- France
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 57996
From the Art Institute of Chicago record
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 in 18th-century European art and literature. Paintings like this had enormous appeal in tourist markets.
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection
- Provenance
- 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 curatorial file]; sold by Colnaghi to Richard L. Feigen and Co., New York, 1978 [letter from Elaine Banks, Feigen, 6 October 1983, in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute, 1978.
Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300033618
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