Description

A large market in souvenir views for Grand Tourist flourished in late 18th-century Naples. The function of eye-catching gouaches like this nocturnal view of Vesuvius, primarily produced for foreign travellers, has been compared with that of modern-day postcards. This drawing, held in the King’s Topographical Collection, shows the eruption of Vesuvius in June 1794, recorded at precisely 2 o’clock in the morning. In the foreground, a group of men watch from the other side of the bay how, according to contemporary accounts, ‘a fountain of fire’ flows from an open crater and clouds of dense smoke rise above Portici and Torre del Greco. Groups of spectators also appear on the pier, at the feet of the lighthouse at left and on boats and ships in the bay beyond.