Mount Vesuvius by Moonlight (The Eruption of 1787)
Giovanni Battista Lusieri (Rome c.1755 – Athens 1821)
Category
Art / Drawings and watercolours
Date
1787
Materials
Watercolour on paper
Measurements
595 x 830 mm
Place of origin
Naples
Order this imageCollection
Attingham Park, Shropshire
NT 607881
Summary
Etched outline and watercolour on paper, Mount Vesuvius by Moonlight (The Eruption of 1787) by Giovanni Battista Lusieri (Rome c.1755 – Athens 1821). To repeat popular Italian views such as this, Lusieri used a method developed by the Swiss. He later became Lord Elgin's draughtsman. A still moonlit scene, boats moored in the harbour, the volcano erupting in the background to the right. People in the foreground, a palm tree to the right.
Provenance
Commissioned by Noel Hill (1745-1789), created 1st Baron Berwick, 1784; by descent Attingham collection; bequeathed to the National Trust with the estate, house and contents of Attingham by Thomas Henry Noel-Hill, 8th Baron Berwick (1877-1947) on 15th May 1953.
Credit line
Attingham Park, The Berwick Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Giovanni Battista Lusieri (Rome c.1755 – Athens 1821), artist