"Eruzione de 13 Settembre 1810"
c. 1820
Attributed to Camillo de Vito
Two pairs of paintings in handsome original gilded frames show the Ridgely family’s continuing interest in foreign travel, and international arts and culture. Governor Charles Carnan Ridgely may have purchased them 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 these views were painted. This is one of two dramatic nighttime views of notable eruptions of Vesuvius in 1810 and 1812. Camillo de Vito (fl.1794-1845) was a Neapolitan artist who made a career depicting the numerous eruptions of Vesuvius in the eighteen teens through thirties.
Gouache on paper. H 53.34, W 77.74 cm
Hampton National Historic Site, HAMP 1083