Artwork Page for Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples from a Cave

Details / Information for Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples from a Cave

Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples from a Cave

1820

Adolf von Heydeck

(German, 1787–1856)
Culture
Germany, 19th century
Medium
watercolor with graphite; framing lines in pen and black ink
Support
Cream wove paper laid down on gray-blue laid paper (artist's mount?)
Measurements
Sheet: 26.9 x 37.9 cm (10 9/16 x 14 15/16 in.); Secondary Support: 27.5 x 37.9 cm (10 13/16 x 14 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the John B. Putnam Foundation 1968.69
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Mount Vesuvius was almost continuously active at the time that Adolf von Heydeck visited Naples, and erupted just two years after this drawing was completed.

Description

Adolf von Heydeck worked in Rome and later traveled south to Naples. This drawing presents that city’s most distinctive attraction: Mount Vesuvius, an active volcano that appears against an otherwise calm sky. Von Heydeck portrayed the scene from within a cave interior, contrasting the potentially overwhelming force of nature with the illusion of protection offered by distance and enclosed space.
A horizontal watercolor and graphite drawing depicts a sunlit coastal landscape through the dark, jagged opening of a brown grotto. Massive rock walls frame a view of flat-roofed buildings nestled among dense, green foliage. Beyond, a calm sea leads toward a hazy, two-peaked mountain on the horizon. The pale blue sky is streaked with light clouds. Fine black ink lines border the scene, contrasting with the dark, earthy tones of the cavernous interior.

Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples from a Cave

1820

Adolf von Heydeck

(German, 1787–1856)
Germany, 19th century

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