Vesuvius eruption - Charles Francois Lacroix workshop in Marseille

Eruption of Vesuvius from the Bay of Naples".
An oil on canvas.

Dimensions:
(AC)H:95 cm x W: 141 cm
(SC)H: 74 cm x W: 120,5 cm

Provenance:
Private collection

Bibliography:
CharlesFrançoisLacroixofMarseilleis a painter of "védutist'' landscapes, after the Italian wordvedute, "vue'' andof "marines''.

A "marine" is a painting that depicts seas, ships, harbors, storms and other marine subjects.


Like many artists of the period, Lacroix de Marseille sought inspiration in Italy.
He painted frescoes for the Duke of Parma.
He lived and worked in Naples for about ten years and had the opportunity to observe several eruptions (notably in 1767 and 1770). It was there that he painted this volcano.
He was close to another great védutist of that time, Joseph Vernet.
Joseph Vernet, following the eruption of 1737, was one of the first artists to make Vesuvius the main subject of a work.


Vesuvius was a favorite motif of artists who visited Naples in the eighteenth century, a period in which it erupted very regularly with an acceleration in the second half of the century. The grandiose spectacle then offered, glowing fumaroles and jets of flames reflected in the bay, could not fail to attract travelers and the curious who were numerous to come to Italy at that time. Among the French painters, those who took hold of it with the most talent and poetry were the two most brilliant emulators of Joseph Vernet, the knight Volaire and Lacroix of Marseille.


Museums:

Dallas Museum of Art
Museum of Bordeau , Dijon , Magnin , Libourne , La Fère ,Lille , Malmaison , Marseille , Montauban , Orleans , Rouen , Saint-Brieuc , Toulon