Treasured Landscapes

Camillo de Vito (attributed)
ca. 1820

This is a dramatic nighttime view of a notable eruption of Vesuvius in 1810. It is likely the work of Camillo de Vito, a Neapolitan artist who made a career depicting the numerous eruptions of Vesuvius in the 1810s through 1830s. Governor Charles Carnan Ridgely of Hampton may have purchased this work on a likely but as yet undocumented trip abroad. It is known that his son John took a “Grand Tour” in the summer of 1823, about the time this view was painted.

Gouache on paper. H 53.34, W 77.74 cm
Hampton National Historic Site, HAMP 1083