Column of Smoke Issuing Thirty Miles High from Vesuvius
Description:
Two dark figures stand near a canoe in the front right foreground. Far behind them is an empty town at the base of Mount Vesuvius. The volcano emits swirling grey smoke which covers the top three quarters of the engraving. Lightning bolts dart in various directions from the top layers of smoke. The left portion of the image is a mass of dense shadow, while to the right of the smoke column the sky is bright and a little cloudy; the smoke blocks the town from sunlight.
Copyright:
Copyright 2009, Department of Special Collections, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Primary Works:
From The Atlas of Nature (1823)
Accession Number:
Thordarson T139
Height (in centimeters):
39
Width (in centimeters):
20
Printing Context
Column of Smoke Thirty Miles High Issuing From Vesuvius (1772) was acquired by William Hamilton from an unknown artist. The image, after being converted into an engraving, was sold to the British Museum. Both William Hamilton and Sir Richard Phillips published copies of this engraving. A copy was published by Sir Richard Phillips in the book Atlas of Nature in 1823. Atlas of Nature became part of Chester H. Thordarson’s private collection before arriving in Special Collections at the University of Wisconsin—Madison.Associated Events
Eruption of 1794: One of the largest eruptions in the history of Mount Vesuvius, the eruption of 1794 caused smoke and ash to rise thirty miles into the sky. No known object had ever traveled that high; thus, based solely on observations, the theorized height of the atmosphere was increased (S. Bisel, Secrets of Vesuvius 48).Associated Places
Mount VesuviusAssociated Texts
Observations on Mount Vesuvius by William Hamilton (1772)Subject
in its depiction of Mt. Vesuvius' eruption in 1794, this image both established new scientific fact and portrayed that new reality in a way that still invoked the sublime.Theme
The two men, who are near a canoe across the water from the erupting Mount Vesuvius, represent mortality and fortune as they are at a safe distance from the volcano. The lightning bolts, darting in various directions from the volcano’s smoke, symbolize nature’s power, while the volcano and the smoke billowing from its crater embody the sublime.Significance
Column of Smoke is a scientific illustration of an erupting volcano, drawn for the purpose of studying Mount Vesuvius. However, because scientific studies of volcanoes were still not taken seriously, this image went unappreciated for decades. In the early Romantic period, still during the late 1700s, the drawing was seen by many to be just another depiction of Mount Vesuvius as awe-inspiring and sublime. The image does feature characteristics that invoke the sublime—intimidating smoke, a tall volcano, and darting lightning. When the image was republished in 1823, however, it took on a new significance for Romantic culture. The Atlas of Nature valued the smoke for its visually-descriptive commentary on the atmosphere, and the image soon became popular in the scientific community. Consequently, the image is significant for two reasons: first, because it seemed (for an early Romantic audience) to portray the sublime, and second, because it was seen as scientifically descriptive by scientists of the late Romantic period.Function
William Hamilton was a Scottish diplomat and lieutenant in the Scottish 3rd Foot Guards. He was soon promoted and sent to the Court of Naples to be Britain’s ambassador. While serving, Hamilton acquired Column of Smoke and made it into an engraving. The function of this image was to study Mount Vesuvius’ eruptions. He later sold this drawing and copies of his engravings to help support him financially. Later, Sir Richard Phillips included this image in Atlas of Nature for its scientific value. The depicted smoke rose thirty miles into the atmosphere, thus extending the theorized atmospheric height. This scientific aspect of the drawing was not fully appreciated until Phillip’s publication in 1823, when the study of volcanoes was more widespread.Bibliography
Bisel, Sara Louise Clark. Secrets of Vesuvius. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc., 1990.Long Title
The Atlas of nature: being a graphic display of the most interesting subjects in the three kingdoms of nature, for study and reference.Featured in Exhibit:
Engraver:
Image Date:
1823
Publisher:
Sir Richard Phillips
