An Eruption of Vesuvius

Johan Christian Dahl

1824 · Oil on canvas · European Paintings

Dahl visited Vesuvius just before Christmas 1820 to witness its eruptions at close-hand. He immediately made an oil sketch (Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen) that served as the basis for the present work, completed four years later for Prince Christian Frederik, later King Christian VIII of Denmark. Vesuvius had attracted artists and Grand Tourists alike since the rediscovery of Pompeii in the mid-eighteenth century, offering a vision of the Sublime that served as a counterpoint to the austerity of Neoclassicism.

Artist

Johan Christian Dahl

Date

1824

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Gift of Christen Sveaas, in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2019