Lot 105: Pierre-Jacques Volaire, le Chevalier Volaire (Toulon 1729- c. 1790/1800 Italy)

Vesuvius erupting at night with onlookers, the bay of Naples beyond
oil on canvas
22 1/2 x 35 3/8 in. (56.5 x 89.8 cm.)

As noted in the previous lots, it is dangerous to speculate on which particular eruption Volaire depicts in his paintings, as many were painted several years after the volcanic activity depicted, and they were intended for tourists rather than vulcanologists; indeed Volaire had no qualms about painting views that he himself had never seen, such as that of the eruption of 1737 (sold, Tajan, Paris, 17 December 1993, lot 37). Elements of the present picture, including the general composition with the artistically exagerated panorama of the Bay of Naples follow the images of the eruption of 1771, as with lot 20 or the Detroit or Richmond paintings. Nonetheless, the more widespread lava flows down the side of the mountain are noticeably different from the 1771 views, and, if it is not just Volaire aiming for an enhanced dramatic effect, suggest that this may be a different occasion.

Interestingly, the broader spread of lava is similar to those depicted in a gouache sketch on paper in the Derby Art Gallery, given to Joseph Wright of Derby. As noted by Benedict Nicolson (Joseph Wright of Derby, Painter of Light, I, p. 64) that latter work is 'too spontaneous and slapdash to have been done anywhere but on the spot', and that suggests that it must represent the only volcanic activity witnessed by Wright, in the autumn of 1774. During that period, which lasted from 4 August until 1 December, lava flows developed from the fractures of 1767 and 1771 and entered the Canale dell'Arena, which would fit the activity here depicted. It may be, therefore, that this is the 1774 eruption witnessed by Volaire and Wright.

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