Featured Eruption of Vesuvius, view from Santa Lucia Bay

The drawing is framed in an old passe-partout, the inscription in the old spelling, as I understand it, from the beginning of the 20th century: Eruptions of Vesuvius.view from the bay of Santa Lucia (watercolor from the 1830s).But, as I understand it, this is actually gouache? I think that the work may not be Russian. I don’t want to open the passe-partout, but perhaps there could be some inscriptions on the back of the picture?As I understand it, the drawing was already old at the beginning of the 20th century.But were they attributed correctly, are there any analogues in the painting style?

 

May we see the back too please including frame?

Debora

 

There is nothing on the back except a sheet of old passe-partout from the early 20th century, and the frame in which the old passe-partout is placed is modern.

I need to first take apart the old frame and then take apart the old passe-partout to see the back of the image.

 

Since you have all so well in hand then, you obviously don't need my help.

Debora

 

So do you think we need to take apart the old mat?))

 

It looks like there is a large tear in the painting, so you want to be very careful if opening the passepartout. I think it is a souvenir painting from Naples or thereabouts. It's not a fine painting, probably by an otherwise unknown local trying to pick up some tourist money. There could be something on the back, but that is far from certain. The problem with opening the passepartout is the damage to the painting, which may be why it received that type of mounting.

If you are going to open it, you need to be prepared in advance with a secure means of handling the damaged paper.

It's not difficult to imagine it being 19th century, and gouache sounds likely... it has more weight, more substance, than watercolors.

If you do open it, be sure to take more pictures front and back, including details of any apparent textures in the paint, or inscriptions (if any), while the picture is unframed.

 

Why is the picture bad? For a miniature size it seems to be written well)). I like.
The image size is only about 7 by 9 centimeters.
I tried to search for similar images, showing works from the late 18th century and the first quarter of the 19th century.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Mount_Vesuvius_in_eruption_at_night,_with_smoke,_fire,_and_l_Wellcome_V0025244.jpg/2560px-Mount_Vesuvius_in_eruption_at_night,_with_smoke,_fire,_and_l_Wellcome_V0025244.jpg

 

Not bad, but not fine art...as in "museum" art. I agree this looks like tourist art. This was a popular subject.

 

And what kind of museum art can be written in a drawing measuring 7 by 9 centimeters?You can’t paint a better image with gouache at this size)).The work looks professional, was it drawn by an artist? And it looks no worse than other images of Vesuvius, painted in gouache of this time, which are in museums)).AS I searched in the picture))

 

I measured the exact dimensions - size 7.5 by 10 centimeters.But for this size it is well written)).

 

yes, sometimes miniatures can be very well executed.......
I like the people all huddled together in shock..

 

Well, even if this was a tourist image at the beginning of the 19th century, can it now have museum value?For some reason on the Internet I did not find a large number of gouache works from this time with a similar image of Vesuvius.There is relatively little work.Or have many similar paintings made for tourists in the early 19th century survived in Italy?

 

The was a big tradition of painting views of Naples for tourists in gouache: they're so much more transportable than oil paintings. They are quite common in Britain, and no doubt some other European countries. The original buyers would rarely have been Italian, so they may may not be that common there. There seems to have been very little written about them, perhaps for that reason.

 

Well, I understand about cityscapes.But if we take such stories as the Eruption of Vesuvius?

 

Miniatures less than half the size:
https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/treasures-l15303/lot.34.html

 

This type of work is essentially a "sketch" of a scene, meant to be done quickly. It's a popular tourist image. I've even seen this scene of the eruption carved in Italian cameo.

I'm not making a judgement on your enjoyment of the image, only identifying what it is, and what was meant by "fine art."

Miniature art is a genre of its own and there are many examples much more fine than this in a variety of mediums. These portaits are smaller than your piece, typically in watercolor.

 

I like the painting, too.

I wonder whether somebody added the writing to the mat after they returned from a visit to Italy? Of course there probably is no way of knowing that.