Lot Essay
Prince Christian Frederik of Denmark wrote to Dahl in May 1820 asking if he would join him in Naples. Changing his plans, Dahl married Emilie von Bloch on June 12 and set out alone for Italy the next day. His journey was hurried (in all, he spent about ten months in Italy) probably as he longed to be with his new wife, and he arrived in Rome on 24 July 1820, and Naples on 10 August.
On 20 December, Vesuvius erupted and Dahl climbed the volcano to watch the sight. Dahl records in his diary 'With Svitzer on Vesuvius and watched in daylight as well as in the evening, an important eruption - very interesting. If there is time, I shall go once more to Vesuvius before I leave Naples'. 'Today the 21st I have started to paint a sketch of what I saw yesterday on Vesuvius'. Two days later he records 'yesterday I went again to Vesuvius in a party of 12-14 persons'.
The subject obviously captivated Dahl and seven versions of The Eruption of Vesuvius are known. The first, a small oil on canvas, measuring 43 x 67.5cm., Dahl described as 'for myself, a scene with a burning crater on Vesuvius, where one sees Naples in the background'. Painted in December 1820, Dahl sold it to Rawert in 1845 and it is now in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. (See M. L. Bang, op. cit., no. 257)
The second version, dated 21 Feb 1821, was a much larger canvas (99.7 x 135.8cm.) and was painted for the Danish archaeologist P. P. Brønsted whom he had met in Naples some months earlier. This also hangs in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen (op. cit., no. 296).
A third 'fairly big cabinet piece' (61 x 87.5cm.) painted for the Prussian Consul in Rome, Jakob Bartholdy, is now in the Rasmus Meyers Samlinger, Bergen (op. cit., no. 316).
A fifth large canvas, measuring 128 x 172cm., dated 1826 is now in the Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main (op. cit., no. 510).
There are two further versions, one dated 1845, measuring 18 x 27cm. was last recorded from a photograph lent by the Jewish Restitution Successor Organisation, but its present whereabouts is unknown. The other, 6.5 x 9.5cm., must have been one of the numerous small presents Dahl gave away and is now in a private collection, Norway. (op. cit., nos. 1032 and 1284).
Our version was painted for Prince Christian Frederik of Denmark. 'In a letter to Dahl, 31 July 1824, the Prince expresses his joy at hearing that Dahl is working on a painting of Vesuvius for him which "judging from the sketch, cannot fail to impress". The sketch was probably the 1820 picture, now in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, which the Prince must have seen in Naples in 1820, or in Rome before he left Italy in April 1821.' (op. cit, p. 157)
Dahl mentions our picture in various correspondence, for example, in a letter to Eckersberg, 24 March 1824, where he explains he will send him a picture of a Mountainous Landscape with a Birch Tree (op. cit., no. 445) when he had finished one for the Prince which he was working on. His diary, January 1825, mentions a letter from Harzen in Copenhagen about the arrival of the paintings and an entry for 29 January, 1825 mentions a letter from the Prince who is delighted with the painting.
There is a study of the boy on a donkey to the right of the picture, dated 31 August 1820, but the present whereabouts is unknown. (op. cit., no. 220). There is also a study of the man pointing to the flames, dated 4 May 1821, in a private collection, Oslo (op. cit, no. 310). The Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo has a drawing of the man to the right, inscribed 'Prof. Friedrich's Figur Dahl 1824' (Fig. 1), and a study of the ships in the bay dated 24 October (Fig. 2). The Nasjonalgalleriet also has a large unsigned version of our picture which, according to M. L. Bang (op. cit. no. 1253) 'is probably a copy', possibly painted by Calmeyer. In a letter to Calmeyer 3 Oct. 1832, Dahl mentions such a copy "when you are sending your paintings to Stockholm, be sure to send also your copy of Vesuvius to the King; it is of a kind that makes a great effect and might interest him".
The subject of an erupting Vesuvius was popularised by many Neapolitan painters. It was first treated in the 1730s by Joseph Vernet and by his pupil Jacques Volaire. One of Volaire's eruption scenes, engraved by H. Guttenberg in 1779 for Abbé de Saint Non, is so similar to Dahl's composition that he must have seen Volaire's work.
The Eruption of Vesuvius 'conveys Dahl's emotions in the face of the event. The staffage figures are no longer the conventional tourists of the vedute gesticulating at a safe distance from the awesome sight, but two serious men contemplating the natural phenomenon almost impossibly close to the glowing lava. The fiery drama in the foreground is contrasted by the soft sunset over the anchored ships on the bay below' (op. cit., vol. 1, p. 63). 'The Popularity of the eruptions as a subject was not only due to the sublimely awful spectacle of nature's forges, but also because it offered a painterly challenge in the contrast of the fire-glow of molten lava against the natural light of night or day. Valenciennes (see Elemens, 1820, p. 226F) held that it would be desirable for an artist to experience at least once in his life such a dramatic spectacle.' (op. cit., p. 197)
Dahl's work has often been compared with John Constable's in England and Caspar David Friedrich's in Germany. The German artist, Carus, wrote of Dahl's work "'In his conception of landscape he was a pure naturalistic, seizing on the details of rocks and trees and plants and meadows with quite extraordinary mastery; working with amazing facility, but leaving much to chance, he often seemed to surrender himself too much to the objective'. The final comment is a reminder that Carus, for all his scientific approach, could not condone a type of art which ignored the spiritual side of earth life". W. Vaughan German Romantic Painting, London, 1980, p. 139.
'In Italy Dahl learned to approach nature more directly in his nature studies - to analyse colour and mass, light and atmosphere, independently of what he had seen in the works of the Old Masters'. (op. cit., p. 63)
As friends and contemporaries, Dahl and Friedrich would have shared ideas and admired each other's work. When Dahl was in Italy, Friedrich was on the Elbe studying the spectacular ice flows breaking up on the river. However, 'Dahl's arrival in Dresden coincided with certain new traits in Friedrich's art that are generally considered to be due to Dahl's influence. It has been suggested that Friedrich's tendency after 1820 to a "Verherrlichung der nordischen Landschaft" could derive from Dahl's example'. (op. cit., p. 79)
On 20 December, Vesuvius erupted and Dahl climbed the volcano to watch the sight. Dahl records in his diary 'With Svitzer on Vesuvius and watched in daylight as well as in the evening, an important eruption - very interesting. If there is time, I shall go once more to Vesuvius before I leave Naples'. 'Today the 21st I have started to paint a sketch of what I saw yesterday on Vesuvius'. Two days later he records 'yesterday I went again to Vesuvius in a party of 12-14 persons'.
The subject obviously captivated Dahl and seven versions of The Eruption of Vesuvius are known. The first, a small oil on canvas, measuring 43 x 67.5cm., Dahl described as 'for myself, a scene with a burning crater on Vesuvius, where one sees Naples in the background'. Painted in December 1820, Dahl sold it to Rawert in 1845 and it is now in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. (See M. L. Bang, op. cit., no. 257)
The second version, dated 21 Feb 1821, was a much larger canvas (99.7 x 135.8cm.) and was painted for the Danish archaeologist P. P. Brønsted whom he had met in Naples some months earlier. This also hangs in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen (op. cit., no. 296).
A third 'fairly big cabinet piece' (61 x 87.5cm.) painted for the Prussian Consul in Rome, Jakob Bartholdy, is now in the Rasmus Meyers Samlinger, Bergen (op. cit., no. 316).
A fifth large canvas, measuring 128 x 172cm., dated 1826 is now in the Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main (op. cit., no. 510).
There are two further versions, one dated 1845, measuring 18 x 27cm. was last recorded from a photograph lent by the Jewish Restitution Successor Organisation, but its present whereabouts is unknown. The other, 6.5 x 9.5cm., must have been one of the numerous small presents Dahl gave away and is now in a private collection, Norway. (op. cit., nos. 1032 and 1284).
Our version was painted for Prince Christian Frederik of Denmark. 'In a letter to Dahl, 31 July 1824, the Prince expresses his joy at hearing that Dahl is working on a painting of Vesuvius for him which "judging from the sketch, cannot fail to impress". The sketch was probably the 1820 picture, now in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, which the Prince must have seen in Naples in 1820, or in Rome before he left Italy in April 1821.' (op. cit, p. 157)
Dahl mentions our picture in various correspondence, for example, in a letter to Eckersberg, 24 March 1824, where he explains he will send him a picture of a Mountainous Landscape with a Birch Tree (op. cit., no. 445) when he had finished one for the Prince which he was working on. His diary, January 1825, mentions a letter from Harzen in Copenhagen about the arrival of the paintings and an entry for 29 January, 1825 mentions a letter from the Prince who is delighted with the painting.
There is a study of the boy on a donkey to the right of the picture, dated 31 August 1820, but the present whereabouts is unknown. (op. cit., no. 220). There is also a study of the man pointing to the flames, dated 4 May 1821, in a private collection, Oslo (op. cit, no. 310). The Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo has a drawing of the man to the right, inscribed 'Prof. Friedrich's Figur Dahl 1824' (Fig. 1), and a study of the ships in the bay dated 24 October (Fig. 2). The Nasjonalgalleriet also has a large unsigned version of our picture which, according to M. L. Bang (op. cit. no. 1253) 'is probably a copy', possibly painted by Calmeyer. In a letter to Calmeyer 3 Oct. 1832, Dahl mentions such a copy "when you are sending your paintings to Stockholm, be sure to send also your copy of Vesuvius to the King; it is of a kind that makes a great effect and might interest him".
The subject of an erupting Vesuvius was popularised by many Neapolitan painters. It was first treated in the 1730s by Joseph Vernet and by his pupil Jacques Volaire. One of Volaire's eruption scenes, engraved by H. Guttenberg in 1779 for Abbé de Saint Non, is so similar to Dahl's composition that he must have seen Volaire's work.
The Eruption of Vesuvius 'conveys Dahl's emotions in the face of the event. The staffage figures are no longer the conventional tourists of the vedute gesticulating at a safe distance from the awesome sight, but two serious men contemplating the natural phenomenon almost impossibly close to the glowing lava. The fiery drama in the foreground is contrasted by the soft sunset over the anchored ships on the bay below' (op. cit., vol. 1, p. 63). 'The Popularity of the eruptions as a subject was not only due to the sublimely awful spectacle of nature's forges, but also because it offered a painterly challenge in the contrast of the fire-glow of molten lava against the natural light of night or day. Valenciennes (see Elemens, 1820, p. 226F) held that it would be desirable for an artist to experience at least once in his life such a dramatic spectacle.' (op. cit., p. 197)
Dahl's work has often been compared with John Constable's in England and Caspar David Friedrich's in Germany. The German artist, Carus, wrote of Dahl's work "'In his conception of landscape he was a pure naturalistic, seizing on the details of rocks and trees and plants and meadows with quite extraordinary mastery; working with amazing facility, but leaving much to chance, he often seemed to surrender himself too much to the objective'. The final comment is a reminder that Carus, for all his scientific approach, could not condone a type of art which ignored the spiritual side of earth life". W. Vaughan German Romantic Painting, London, 1980, p. 139.
'In Italy Dahl learned to approach nature more directly in his nature studies - to analyse colour and mass, light and atmosphere, independently of what he had seen in the works of the Old Masters'. (op. cit., p. 63)
As friends and contemporaries, Dahl and Friedrich would have shared ideas and admired each other's work. When Dahl was in Italy, Friedrich was on the Elbe studying the spectacular ice flows breaking up on the river. However, 'Dahl's arrival in Dresden coincided with certain new traits in Friedrich's art that are generally considered to be due to Dahl's influence. It has been suggested that Friedrich's tendency after 1820 to a "Verherrlichung der nordischen Landschaft" could derive from Dahl's example'. (op. cit., p. 79)