Lot Details
Lot 2072
English School
18th Century
The Eruption of Vesuvius in 1794 with British Ships as Witness - Awaiting the French Naval Attack
Signed C. Magnus (ll)
Oil on canvas
30 x 40 inches (76.2 x 101.6 cm)
During the 1790s, Great Britain was at war with Revolutionary France. In July 1793, the Royal Navy occupied the French Mediterranean port of Toulon, which it held until December of the same year, when the French retook the city. The British fleet then withdrew to Naples, whose king, Ferdinand IV (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies), allowed the British to use the port as a naval station. Thus, part of the fleet was anchored in the Bay of Naples in June 1794 when Mt. Vesuvius erupted. This was a spectacular event that not only blew clouds of steam and rock into the air, but also sent streams of lava down the mountain into the sea, destroying the town of Torre del Greco.
This view, the sketch for which must have been made from on the water, shows the British fleet lit from behind by the volcano. The first-rate ship of the line anchored at the right bears a close resemblance to the Victory, later to be Admiral Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Additional Notes & Condition Report
There are several surface scrapes (these too are visible in the photograph) in the sky above the rigging of the ships at the left, and also above the ship at the right. These appear to be confined to the varnish layer. The varnish is very shiny and shellac-like. Condition commensurate with age.
Examination by black light shows scattered inpainting throughout, but especially in the gray billow of smoke above and to the left of the rigging of the first-rate ship of the line anchored at right. This, too, can be seen fairly clearly in the photograph.
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