Eruption of Vesuvius

In June 1794 Vesuvius opened along its flank and sent a river of lava down onto Torre del Greco, a town on the bay below Naples. The flow buried the center of the town several meters deep and killed at least 18 people, and for days the glow was visible across the whole bay. Wutky painted this scene in 1796, with that eruption still fresh in the city's memory. He gives you the mountain at night, when the fire in the smoke and the bright line of lava on the slope were the only things the eye could hold. Off to one side he sets a few tiny figures on the high ground, come to watch, the plume towering over them. In these years a burning Vesuvius was one of the sights travelers on the Grand Tour came to Naples hoping to see, and Wutky sold such night pieces to visitors who wanted to carry the spectacle home.