A Very Fine Pair of Large Neopolitan Gouache Paintings of the Bay of Naples with Views of Vesuvius Erupting a Fine Ash

Naples [Circa 1840] Gouache and Watercolour on Card, 480 330mm.

One of the most famous and sought-after subjects in art associated with the Grand Tour. The composition features the active volcano against the backdrop of the Gulf of Naples, with all it’s white buildings, while in the foreground small figures and boats enliven the scene, lending depth and realism to the view.

These works are striking for their delicate colour palette and the evocative atmospheric rendering of the plume of ash rising from the crater, dominating the landscape. The contrast between the tranquility of the gulf’s waters and the power of the natural phenomenon captures all the fascination that Vesuvius exerted on 19th-century European travellers and collectors.

Neapolitan gouaches constitute one of the most characteristic examples of travel art produced in the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Created as mementos of the region’s natural and archaeological wonders, they accompanied generations of foreign visitors, drawn by the extraordinary beauty of the Gulf of Naples and the spectacle of Vesuvius’s periodic eruptions.