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Eruption of Mt Vesuvius, Seen from the Ponte della Maddalena in Naples
Francesco Piranesi, c. 1783
The eruption of Mt Vesuvius on 8 August 1779 caused great panic with Neapolitans, for it reminded them of the catastrophe that destroyed Pompeii in AD 79. Although it is uncertain whether Desprez actually witnessed this event, he depicted it with the intensity of a personal experience. The outburst lights up the night sky and casts shadows as in daylight, dramatizing the figures’ desperate flight.
- Artwork typeprint
- Object numberRP-P-2017-6105
- Dimensionslength 704 mm x width 484 mm
- Physical characteristicslijnets, met de hand gekleurd in waterverf en gouache; kaderlijn in pen en inkt