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On the Nature of Vesuvius

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On the Nature of Vesuvius CONSIGNMENTS NOW CHILDE HASSAM INQUIRIES Lady in a Garden, circa 1890 +1 (323) 436 5552 a closer look INVITED FOR AUCTIONS oil on canvas,18 x 15in [email protected] IN ALL CATEGORIES $800,000 - 1,200,000 To be offered November 19 On the Nature of Vesuvius FINDING THE SUBLIME IN A NEWLY ACQUIRED PAIR OF PAINTINGS By Catherine Hess ighteenth-century travelers on the Grand The pair evokes the 18th-century fascination Tour of Europe sought out Naples, Italy, with the concept of the sublime, which philoso- not only for its museums and ancient ruins pher Edmund Burke described as “the strongest but also for that marvel of nature: Vesuvius. emotion which the mind is capable of feeling,” EGeological phenomenon and source of drama, this namely that “when danger or pain press too volcano inspired many artists, including Pierre- nearly…they are simply terrible; but at certain Jacques Volaire of France. distances…they are delightful.” Contrasting the calm with the horrific, Volaire Burke’s theories are based on the teachings manipulates light with great originality in these two of Epicurus, whereby pleasure is the feeling of paintings—View of Naples in Moonlight and Scene not feeling pain. Later, Lucretius took up this of a Shipwreck—created as a pair in 1770. He also concept, which he describes brilliantly in On plays voids off of solids, bright illumination off of the Nature of Things: darkness, and serenity off of violent action. When the winds trouble the waters on the great sea, it is sweet to gaze from shore upon another’s tribulation: Not because any man’s troubles are a delec- table joy, but because it is pleasant to perceive from what ills you are free. This sort of Schadenfreude is precisely why such scenes of disasters were and continue to be “sweet” to behold. It also explains why we love horror movies in the safe comfort of a movie theater or scary stories in the company of friends around a cozy campfire. These two paintings were acquired in May by The Huntington’s Art Collectors’ Council. This 9 fall they go on view in a new gallery spotlighting the Grand Tour. Other works on view in that room will be Pompeo Batoni’s portrait of Grand Tourist James Stopford (ca. 1753) and Joseph Wright of Derby’s Vesuvius from Portici (1774–76). Catherine Hess is chief curator of European art at The Huntington. Vesuvius, the volcano that buried the town of Pompeii in 79 AD, was a popular subject for 18th-century artists. Here, a detail from Pierre-Jacques Volaire’s View of Naples in Moonlight. International Auctioneers and Appraisers – bonhams.com/LA ©2014 Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers Corp. All rights reserved. Bond No. 57BSBGL0808 Although Volaire himself never witnessed Vesuvius erupting, The moon elicits both dreaminess and anxiety. Its glow he was well aware of its fiery wrath. Its explosions occurred soothes. Yet its proximity to the sleeping giant Vesuvius, regularly in this period, including in 1767, just a few years with its ominous trail of smoke, invokes danger. before he painted this canvas. The artist gives a nod to the ancient world by locating a fanciful In Scene of a Shipwreck, Volaire underscores the dramatic version of the Temple of Minerva Medica here, even though terror of the event by drawing the viewer’s eyes from the its true home lies 150 miles to the north, in the center of Rome. storm’s blast of lightning to its tragic victims. 19 19 Volaire animates the nighttime scene using two contrasting The sheltered campfire beckons with a sense of safety. Pierre-Jacques Volaire (French, sources of light—the moon and a campfire. They illuminate Danger, however, lurks nearby. The fire reminds the viewer 1729–1799), View of Naples in the figures either in reflected light or in silhouette, such as of the threat of an eruption and serves as a parallel to the Moonlight and Scene of a Shipwreck (1770), oil on canvas. the figures riding on a boat in the calm sea. turmoil unfolding in the companion painting at right. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. In another set of contrasts, the artist illuminates the figure of a dead or dying woman while setting in silhouette the terrorized figures who climb to safety beyond..
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