Vesuvius in Eruption (Wright painting)
Vesuvius in Eruption is the subject of a series of thirty paintings and at least one preliminary sketch by Joseph Wright of Derby, who travelled in Italy in the years 1773-1775. It appears that whilst Wright was in Italy Vesuvius was not erupting. The paintings Wright is thought to have painted Vesuvius over thirty times in his career. One of Wright's Vesuvius paintings known as Vesuvius from Portici, is held at the Huntington Library at San Marino in California. A second, known by the title Vesuvius in Eruption, with a View over the Islands in the Bay of Naples is in Tate Britain in London. A third, Vesuvius from Posillipo, can be seen at the Yale Center for British Art, while a fourth, known under almost the same title, is in a private collection. The painting in the Tate has been chemically analysed to find that the bright yellow is due to the element sulphur whilst the ground for the painting is based on gypsum rather than chalk and that has led to speculation that this was painted in Italy. It is not uncommon for Wright to arrange his compositions. The Tate painting does show the view to be between