.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Joseph Wright of Derby left England for Italy together with his pregnant wife Hannah, his pupil Richard Hurleston, John Downman and the sculptor James Paine in November 1773. Travelling by boat, he arrived in Nice by December, sailing on to Genoa and then to Leghorn, from which he then travelled overland to Rome, eventually arriving on 3 February 1774. Wright remained in Italy until June the following year, principally in Rome, where he was deeply influenced by the grandeur and scale of the remains of ancient Rome, as well as by the works of Italian masters that he was able to see at first hand there, an enthusiasm reflected in his diaries. While in Italy he executed relatively few finished oils instead concentrating on absorbing what he was able to see, making numerous sketches and studies that were to form the basis of many of his major pictures on his return to England.
Aside from Rome, it was not surprising that Wright, whose fascination with science and dramatic light effects had been so evident in the industrial scenes of his early career, felt drawn to Naples, where it was possible to witness one of nature's most spectacular events, the eruption of Vesuvius. Wright visited Naples in October and November 1774 where he witnessed Vesuvius erupting writing that it was the 'most wonderful sight in nature' . It was an event which was to continue to inspire him for the rest of his career becoming the subject of over thirty paintings and resulting in some of his most celebrated compositions. In this small scale work, Wright, in common with many of his other compositions of the subject, focuses on the drama of the eruption and the awe inspiring diffused light effect it creates, contrasting the frenzied geological activity with the nightime calm of the moonlit Bay of Naples in the foreground.
Aside from Rome, it was not surprising that Wright, whose fascination with science and dramatic light effects had been so evident in the industrial scenes of his early career, felt drawn to Naples, where it was possible to witness one of nature's most spectacular events, the eruption of Vesuvius. Wright visited Naples in October and November 1774 where he witnessed Vesuvius erupting writing that it was the 'most wonderful sight in nature' . It was an event which was to continue to inspire him for the rest of his career becoming the subject of over thirty paintings and resulting in some of his most celebrated compositions. In this small scale work, Wright, in common with many of his other compositions of the subject, focuses on the drama of the eruption and the awe inspiring diffused light effect it creates, contrasting the frenzied geological activity with the nightime calm of the moonlit Bay of Naples in the foreground.