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Pietro Antoniani
Milan 1740/50 -1805
A view of Vesuvius with the Bay of Naples
Canvas: 65 x 131 cm
25 5/8 x 51 1/2in
Signed: And inscribed on reverse "Pietro Antoniani"
"Veduta del Vesuvio e tutto il Cratere di Napoli."
Provenance:
Apparently acquired through Colnaghi's circa 1918
Private collection, Wales
By descent
Private collection, London
Exhibited:
"Vases & Volcanoes, Sir William Hamilton and his collection", British Museum, 1996, No 6, p116, illus p 115
This picture is an exceptionally fine View of Vesuvius and the whole Bay of Naples by the Milanese painter Pietro Antoniani. The artist worked extensively for the English who visited Naples in the latter part of the eighteenth century and his admirers included Sir William Hamilton. Indeed it is possible that he is the principal figure in the centre of the composition, pointing out the features of the landscape to his companions with the telescope. Another notable character is the famous so-called Padre Claude, the hermit of Vesuvius, who lived in a small hermitage next to the church of San Salvatore, seen in the middle distance. He dressed as a monk, but in reality he was a French deserter who had even spent a period in London as a hairdresser.
The view conveys the magical quality of the Neapolitan landscape in the eighteenth century, the slopes of the volcano alive with the lava flows of a recent eruption. Antoniani also frequently depicted the eruption of Vesuvius itself - witnessing one personally in 1767. This landscape is painted from the area known as l'Atrio del Cavallo, above the little church where the present observatory is located. The view today is a little different, not only because of the development of the countryside and the shoreline of Portici (where Sir William's Villa was located) Herculaneum and Torre del Greco, but also because of the alteration of the crater of Vesuvius during the most recent eruption in 1944.
Pietro Antoniani was a Milanese painter born circa 1740-50 who painted landscapes and seascapes, most of which can be dated between 1770 to 1780.
Little is known of Antoniani's travels in Italy, apart from his visits to Naples. Towards the end of the eighteenth century Naples was a much more cosmopolitan town than Rome, and artists and travellers flocked to the Bourbon capital. Once there, Antoniani attracted the interest of Sir William Hamilton, British Envoy to the Court of the Two Sicilies, who personally commissioned two views from him, Naples from Mergellian (1771) and the
Eruption of Vesuvius of 1767. Many of Antoniani's clients were English Grand Tourists, including Charles Towneley, famous for his outstanding collection of Antique marbles.
Antoniani's views continue the landscape tradition in Naples established by Antonio Joli. He used celebrated views of the city and Bay of Naples as backgrounds for his depictions of events at Court and aristocratic amusements. His work provides us with a fascinating glimpse of Neopolitan life.
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