The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 18, 2025
Mount Vesuvius at Midnight
1868
(American, born Prussia [now Germany], 1830–1902)
Framed: 62 x 77 x 9 cm (24 7/16 x 30 5/16 x 3 9/16 in.); Unframed: 42.6 x 60.7 cm (16 3/4 x 23 7/8 in.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
This painting is a smaller version of a much larger canvas that is now lost.Description
For centuries, artists and tourists have been attracted to Mount Vesuvius, a volcano near Naples. While living in London in 1868, Albert Bierstadt heard that the volcano was active once again, and rushed immediately to Italy. It is not certain that he actually saw an eruption, although the resultant painting presents a convincing image of spewing lava and ash.- The Cleveland Museum of Art (09/ 12/2012 - 01/07/2013 Getty Villa Malibu, CA; 02/24/2013 - 07/07/2013 Cleveland Museum of Art); "The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection"The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-July 7, 2013).Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, The Lure of Italy: American Artists and The Italian Experience, 1760-1914 (16 September-13 December 1992); traveled to Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art (3 February-11 April 1993); to Houston, Museum of Fine Arts (23 May-8 August 1993), cat. no. 53, pp. 213, 229, 276-277, illus. p. 277.Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Visions of Vesuvius (15 April-16 July 1978), no cat. number, listed p. 15, not illustrated.Visions of Vesuvius. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA (organizer) (April 14-July 15, 1978).Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, A Retrospective Exhibition: Albert Bierstadt 1830-1902 (5 August-13 September 1964), cat. no. 45, illus. as Mount Aetna.
- {{cite web|title=Mount Vesuvius at Midnight|url=false|author=Albert Bierstadt|year=1868|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1949.541