Lot 103: Pierre-Jacques Volaire, le Chevalier Volaire (Toulon 1729- c. 1790/1800 Italy)

Vesuvius erupting at night seen from the Atrio del Cavallo, with elegant onlookers, a view of Portici and Capri beyond
signed and inscribed 'Eruption di Mont Vesuve di 14 may 1771. peinte sur le lieu par le che Volaire' (lower right)
oil on canvas
31 x 45 7/8 in. (78.7 x 116.5 cm.)

Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, and Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art, Light! The Industrial Age, 1750-1900, 2001, p. 79, illustrated.

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 30 May 1991, lot 82.

This view of the eruption of 1771 is taken slightly further in from that of the previous lot, and represents the more 'truthful' view that would be seen from across the Atrio del Cavallo, with the rooftops of Portici (from where Sir William Hamilton could view the eruptions from his villa) and Torre del Greco above the shore and the island of Capri in the distance across the Bay of Naples. As noted in the introductory text, one must allow some license with Volaire's inscription: he was indeed an eye-witness to the eruption and did presumably make some sketches of the scene 'sur le lieu', but it is not likely that he actually painted his finished canvasses en plein air during the eruption and it is presumably to his personal presence and his sketches that he therefore refers.

The volcanic activity of the Spring of 1771 began at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of 1 May, with lava pouring from a fracture of the cone towards the Vallone dell'Arena for eight days. On 9 May at midnight, a new lava flow began which branched, on the 12th, towards Portici and Torre del Greco in the south-west (as depicted here and in the previous lot). There was continuous strombolian activity at the cone (characterized by the intermittent explosion or fountaining of basaltic lava from a single vent or crater, the lava fragments generally consist of partially molten volcanic bombs that become rounded as they fly through the air) and the lava continued to flow until the end of May, by which time it was also heading towards Boscoreale in the south-east; from 15 May until November, ash rained down causing damage to cultivated land.

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.