Painting of a volcano in eruption, titled 'Vesuvius in Eruption'. The volcano occupies the left two thirds of the paper. To the right the land drops away to reveal a view of the sea. A plume of lava and dark smoke erupts from the volcano's cone. A river of orange-yellow lava flows down the sides of the volcano and overland towards the foreground. The deep blue colour of the sky suggests that this is a nocturnal event. Made by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), c. 1774. Gouache on paper, mounted for display.
Painting of a volcano in eruption, titled 'Vesuvius in Eruption'. The volcano occupies the left two thirds of the paper. To the right the land drops away to reveal a view of the sea. A plume of lava and dark smoke erupts from the volcano's cone. A river of orange-yellow lava flows down the sides of the volcano and overland towards the foreground. The deep blue colour of the sky suggests that this is a nocturnal event. Made by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), c. 1774. Gouache on paper, mounted for display.
Painting of a volcano in eruption, titled 'Vesuvius in Eruption'. The volcano occupies the left two thirds of the paper. To the right the land drops away to reveal a view of the sea. A plume of lava and dark smoke erupts from the volcano's cone. A river of orange-yellow lava flows down the sides of the volcano and overland towards the foreground. The deep blue colour of the sky suggests that this is a nocturnal event. Made by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), c. 1774. Gouache on paper, mounted for display.

Exhibitions:

  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby
    Venue: Norwich Castle Museum
    Dates: from 03/01/1959 to 01/02/1959
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby, 1734-1797: An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings Arranged by the Arts Council
    Venue: Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
    Dates: from to
  • Title: Paysages d'Italie. Les Peintres du plein air, 1780-1830
    Venue: Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris
    Dates: from to
  • Title: Wright of Derby
    Venue: Tate Gallery, London
    Dates: from to
  • Title: The Golden Age of Naples: Art and Civilization Under the Bourbons 1734 - 1805
    Venue: Detroit Institute of Fine Arts
    Dates: from to
  • Title: La Peinture romantique anglaise et les préraphaélites
    Venue: Petit Palais, Paris
    Dates: from 21/01/1972 to 16/04/1972
  • Title: British Artists in Europe
    Venue: Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
    Dates: from 10/01/1973 to 17/02/1973
  • Title: Visions of Vesuvius
    Venue: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
    Dates: from 14/04/1978 to 16/07/1978
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: An Exhibition to Commemorate the Centenary of Derby Museums and Art Gallery
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 21/04/1979 to 21/07/1979
  • Title: Zwei Jahrhunderte Englische Malerei: Britische Kunst und Europa, 1680 - 1880
    Venue: Haus der Kunst München
    Dates: from 21/11/1979 to 27/01/1980
  • Title: Wright in Italy. Joseph Wright of Derby's Visit Abroad, 1773-5
    Venue: Fraser, David
    Dates: from 08/08/1987 to 20/09/1987
  • Title: Romanticismo: il nuovo sentimento della natura
    Venue: Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto
    Dates: from 15/05/1993 to 30/09/1993
  • Title: Goethe and the Visual Arts
    Venue: Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt
    Dates: from 20/05/1994 to 30/10/1994
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby, 1734-1797: Bicentenary Exhibition
    Venue: Wallis, Jane
    Dates: from 21/06/1997 to 28/09/1997
  • Title: Water, Clouds, Light and Stones
    Venue: Mittelrhein Museum, Koblenz
    Dates: from 25/08/2002 to 03/11/2002
  • Title: Lumière, Transparence, Opacité
    Venue: Nouveau Musee National de Monaco
    Dates: from 27/09/2006 to 26/11/2006
  • Title: Volcano: Turner to Warhol
    Venue: Compton Verney, Warwick
    Dates: from 24/07/2010 to 31/10/2010
  • Title: Joseph Wright Drawings
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 01/06/2013 to 20/09/2013
  • Title: Joseph Wright and the Lure of Italy (The Grand Tour, Part 2)
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 18/03/2016 to 12/06/2016
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Life on Paper
    Venue: Derby Museum and Art Gallery
    Dates: from 23/05/2025 to 07/09/2025

Publications

  • Title: Wright of Derby
    Author: Judy Egerton
    Published Place: London
    Copyright: The Tate Gallery
    Published Year: 1990
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby 1734 - 1797
    Sub-Title: An introduction to the work of Joseph Wright of Derby with a catalogue of drawings held by Derby Museum and Art Gallery. Published on the occasion of an exhibition commemorating the Bicentenary of the artist's death.
    Author: Wallis, Jane
    Published Place: Derby
    Published Year: 1997
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Painter of Light
    Sub-Title: Volume 1
    Volume: 1
    Author: Benedict Nicolson
    Published Place: London
    Copyright: Benedict Nicolson, 1968
    Published Year: 1968
  • Title: Wright in Italy
    Sub-Title: Joseph Wright of Derby's Visit Abroad, 1773-5
    Author: Fraser, David
    Published Place: Sudbury
    Published Year: 1987
  • Title: Joseph Wright of Derby: Painter of Light
    Sub-Title: Volume 2
    Volume: 2
    Author: Benedict Nicolson
    Published Place: New Haven and London
    Published Year: 1968
  • Title: Volcano
    Sub-Title: The Volcano in Western Art: A Brief Introduction
    Author: James Hamilton
    Published Place: Warwickshire
    Published Year: 2010
  • Title: Thomas Jones (1742-1803): An Artist Rediscovered
    Author: Ann Sumner
    Published Year: 2003

Related People

  • Joseph Wright of Derby (Artist)

    Display Date: British, 1734 - 1797

    Nationality: British

    Biography: Artist.

Vesuvius in Eruption

Date: c. 1774

Medium: Gouache on paper.

Object Type:Painting
Dimensions:Support: 337 × 486 mm (13 1/4 × 19 1/8 in.)
Provenance:...; Herbert Cheney Bemrose; thence to his wife, Florence May Bemrose (nee Prince); thence to her second husband, Major Lousada, by whom bequeathed to Derby Museums in 1954.
Viewing Status:Contact Us
Item Ref:1954-224/1
Browse Collection
Browse Collection