Lot 128: Pasquale Mattei (Italian, 1813-1879) Eruzione

Pasquale Mattei (Italian, 1813-1879)
Eruzione
signed 'P MATTEI' (lower right)
oil on canvas
62 x 74.5cm (24 7/16 x 29 5/16in).
Footnotes

Eruzione shows figures surrounding the smoking crater of Mount Vesuvius. It is a subject that has fascinated artists throughout the centuries and this painting makes an interesting comparison with some other depictions of Vesuvius. Pompeii, the town buried by the eruption in 79 AD was rediscovered in 1599. It's wider discovery happened in 1748 when it was properly excavated. It is from this period on that it became a destination for tourists and artists.

One of the most famous artists to paint Vesuvius was Joseph Wright of Derby who undertook a grand tour in 1773. Over the rest of his career he completed 30 views of the volcano, many with the similar composition to the present lot with the Bay of Naples in the background to the right. Wright was drawn to the subject more for the opportunity it allowed him to experiment with strong intense light effects of an actual eruption. It is the eruption and the lava flows and the possibilities for drama and excitement that attracted most artists to Vesuvius as a subject, including Pierre Jacques Volaire, Xavier della Gatta and the British artists Sebastian Pether and William Marlow. Mattei shows us a different Vesuvius, with no lava but only the smoke that swirls around the top of the composition. It shows people getting very close to the crater, their tiny figures giving a sense of scale to the mountain. It is a calmer view of Vesuvius, showing the beauty of the scene and not the destructive power of the only active volcano on the European mainland.