Art Analysis: The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Throughout history, art has been used to reflect the culture and qualities valued by a people. The painting “The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius” is one such piece of art. It was painted in 1777 by Pierre-Jacques Volaire depicting an eruption in 1771 which destroyed many villages around the base of Mount Vesuvius which is near Naples Italy . The top half of the painting is a grand depiction of the mountain during the eruption which transforms into an evacuation scene near the bottom. Volaire’s painting has elements that hint at the prevailing ideas on society at the time especially near the bottom of the painting where the various people take part in certain actions. Art often represents the ideals held as important by a people and this can be seen by the things Volaire decides to incorporate into his painting. Through this painting Volaire shows what he believes is ideal in his society, marks a stepping stone to the romanticism art movement and, has similarities to the content of modern art which shows how art evolves with culture.

courtesy of the NC museum of Art

“The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius” was painted by Volaire, a french artist living in Italy, as a souvenir for wealthy english travelers. Through out his career Volaire created many paintings of Mt. Vesuvius for travelers.The background of the painting depicts the eruption of Vesuvius and, a river of lava destroying a village along the coast near the mountain. In the foreground is a kind of bridge with many people seen fleeing the mountain towards some ships or to travel along a road that continues out of frame. At the visible end of the bridge there is a group of people kneeling before a figure of a saint in what appears to be a prayer. Such a scene being depicted during a natural disaster can be seen as a strong display of faith in a time of need. At the start of the bridge a statue of St. Januarius, the patron saint for the city of Naples, can be seen looking towards the mountain as it erupts. In the center of the bridge a man is seen holding a picture, likely of a saint, at the mountain. These scenes all tie to the importance of the church in that time. Volaire is trying to show that during his life people would turn to religion in times of crisis. Apart from the religious aspects of the painting there are other characteristics that are just as meaningful. Off to the side of the bridge two men can be seen helping what appears to be an elderly women get to safety. In a few places men can be scene carrying their wives and, women their children. In the instances where a couple is shown the husband is always in front of the wife even on the carts. It shows that ideally people will help each other in times of distress especially those seen as helpless and that men were ideally the ones helping the helpless. It also shows that during this time that husbands should be the dominant ones in a marriage and take responsibility for the safety of their family. Many of the rougher looking people are seen walking while the better dressed individuals are seen on carts. One very posh carriage can also be seen at the end of the bridge right behind a group of poorly dressed people praying. This could be showing the different statuses of people come out even during such a disaster. The important people are shown to have a more comfortable journey to safety when compared to the poor masses who can only carry what they can put on their backs as they flee from the mountain. Volaire’s depiction of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius highlights the important ideals of his people and his view on human nature.

Painting by Bartollommeo 

The Enlightenment was a time where the conventional thoughts on religion and, humanity were changing and, secularism was becoming more popular. The inclusion of scenes of faith show the high regard people still had of their religion during this period. During the Enlightenment art was seen as depicting what is naturally ideal so for Volaire to willingly paint in religious symbolism for a piece that was likely made for a tourist, not commission by a church, shows that faith is the ideal quality of a person even at this point in history. Voltaire painted this piece towards the end of the 18th century which is a little before the Romantic art movement. The Romantic art movement was a period where a greater appreciation for the beauty of nature and the general theme of emotion over reason was portrayed. Even though the piece as painted well before the start of this movement, many qualities of the movement can be seen in the painting. The depiction of the volcano is it erupts is painted in a way to create awe in the power of nature. The ocean is painted calmly as it reflects the moon on the surface in contrast to the fiery spectacle unfolding on the shore. This is more or less like many of the pieces of art created half a decade later. The people in the painting are shown to be helping each other and staying relatively calm in the face of mortal danger. Scenes of piety are shown as people throw themselves down in front of their saints. Such scenes of people following their emotions is a common theme of romantic era art. Though Volaire’s painting included aspects of latter periods of art it still retains some of the aspects of earlier art periods. The great detail and over exaggeration of the eruption may have been influenced by pieces from the Rococo period of art where it was common to make over the top depictions. The display of the emotional scenes of faith in the painting can partly be shown as an extension of the earlier humanism movement where many pieces of art were created in which religious themes were shown with more human emotion. And of course is the religious symbolism itself is more of an extension upon centuries where most art was commissioned by the church and featured only religious topics. “The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius” being painted during a crossroads of art styles gives a unique view of this transitional period in art.

Painting by Thomas Kinkade

Many of the topics of modern art are vastly different from the majority of art in the past. Much of the art from early civilization to the 18th century were of mainly a religious nature while modern art tends to be more abstract or focus on other topics. Much of this can be attributed to the shift in ideals in the realism to modern ages of art and the globalization of art through the exposure to different cultures. Volaire lived in a time where many people never went more than a few miles from their birthplace and almost everyone was expected to practice their religion. During his life, the view of art was shifting towards depicting human emotions and natural beauty rather than the power of god. This is reflected in the different aspects of his art just as many ideals about modern life can be reflected in a piece of modern art. Even though things like religion are still important in modern times, ideas such as secularism have made it so its not a dominating factor in everyday life anymore. This would explain the lack of a great deal of religious art in modern times. Though religious influence on art today may be lacking, other ideals such as the appreciation of natural beauty still influence on art. Art that depicts scenes of nature are still created fairly commonly by modern artist just as the scenic paintings volaire painted. Topics such as humanism are still fairly popular in modern culture even though they are not so heavily the topic of paintings. Volaire’s use of people helping others in their time of need is similar to the contemporary values of giving aid to people in need. Modern humanism seeks to see the best of people even in the worst of time which shows why acts of great selflessness are highly praised in our time. Often the most impactful stories in our time are the ones about the doctors who travel to poor nations to fight epidemics or, countries sending in the army to rescue refugees from a war. This is again reflected in photography where images of human suffering are often used to help build support for or against a cause. The similarities and differences in art from Volaire’s time to modern times shows that art evolves to reflect what is important to society.

Painting by Norman Rockwell

Art can reveal a lot about the people from which it came from. “The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius” at first may look merely like the painting of a volcanic eruption but the style and contents of the piece says a lot about the kind of person the artist was and reflects on the society of his time. Through his painting Volaire shows that though religion and social rank were important at the time of his painting, new ideas on nature and humanity are also displayed. The painting having these qualities and being created around the time of a major shift in art styles makes it a prime example of how art can be used to see the ideas of society at the time. “The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius” is a great example of a painting which displays the values of a people during a time of many new ideas and, shows the signs of the evolution of art during that time.

Works Cited

Brown, Ashley. "The Symbiotic Relationship of Religion and Art." Agora: Journal for Undergraduate Scholarly Papers. Lynchburg College, 1 Nov. 2007. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://www.agorajournal.org/>.