Germany, 19th century / 1803
View of the Gulf of Pozzuoli from Solfatara
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs View of the Gulf of Pozzuoli from Solfatara as painting (Germany, 19th century · 1803).
While in Naples, the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe took painting lessons from Philipp Hackert; their meetings were documented in Goethe's travelogue Italienische Reise (Italian Journey).
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as oil on canvas and credits Philipp Hackert (German, 1737–1807).
The museum's collection notes: 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.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtView of the Gulf of Pozzuoli from SolfataraOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.