Description
Attracted to its dramatic vistas, volcanoes, exotic peasants, and classical ruins, landscape painters of the 1700s and 1800s flocked to the countryside around Naples. This view looks west toward the Gulf of Pozzuoli from just above the Solfatara, an area of volcanic steam vents. The ancient town of Pozzuoli, where the apostle Paul landed on his way to Rome, lies in the distance. Hackert's attention to detail and rendering of form with extreme lucidity is characteristic of German Romantic painting.
Provenance
Artist’s estate, by descent to Johann Christian Behrendt (1803-1807); Johann Christian Behrendt [1765-1838], Berlin (1807-); Sotheby's (Firm). Important Old Master Paintings. Dec. 9, 1981. (Until 1981); (Sale, Sotheby's, London, Dec. 9, 1981 (lot 36), sold to Galerie Grünwald) (1981); (Galerie Grünwald, Munich, and David Carritt, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1981-1983); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1983-)
Accession Number
1983.14
Medium
oil on fabric
Dimensions
Framed: 146 x 190 x 14 cm (57 1/2 x 74 13/16 x 5 1/2 in.); Unframed: 119 x 166.5 cm (46 7/8 x 65 9/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Tags
Painting Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Oil Painting German
Background & Context
Background Story
View of the Gulf of Pozzuoli from Solfatara from 1803 depicts the Gulf of Pozzuoli viewed from the Solfatara volcanic crater near Naples in the precisely observed, atmospheric manner that distinguishes Hackert's best work. The Solfatara—a dormant volcanic crater that still emits sulphurous fumes—was one of the most spectacular and popular subjects for landscape painters visiting the Naples area, and Hackert's 1803 painting shows this spectacular subject at its most precisely observed. As court painter to King Ferdinand IV of Naples, Hackert had unparalleled access to the most spectacular views of the Naples area, and this painting shows the Gulf of Pozzuoli from one of the most vantage points.
Cultural Impact
View of the Gulf of Pozzuoli from Solfatara is important in the history of Italian veduta painting because it demonstrates the precisely observed, atmospheric manner that Hackert brought to the most spectacular views of the Naples area as court painter to King Ferdinand IV of Naples. The Solfatara—one of the most spectacular volcanic sites in the Naples area and a favorite subject of landscape painters—was one of the most important subjects in Italian veduta painting, and the 1803 painting shows this subject at its most precisely observed.
Why It Matters
View of the Gulf of Pozzuoli from Solfatara is Hackert's precisely observed Neapolitan landscape: the Gulf of Pozzuoli from the Solfatara volcanic crater rendered in the atmospheric manner of one of the most accomplished landscape painters of the 18th century. The 1803 painting shows the spectacular views of the Naples area that made Hackert's veduta paintings distinctive.
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