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Among the numerous eruptions of Vesuvius in the 18th century, none was as powerful or impressive as the one in August 1779, described as "più famoso e terribile" by an Italian naturalist, Sir William Hamilton spoke of it as "so singular a nature, so very violent, and alarming, that it necessarily attracted the attention of every one...". It could not have escaped the notice of the educated that the most devastating eruption of antiquity took place exactly 1700 years before, when in 79 AD, also in August, Pompeii and Herculaneum were submerged in the lava flow and Pliny the Elder was killed. Jakob Philipp Hackert was an eyewitness in Naples in 1779 (cf. Norhoff/Reimer, op. cit., p. 52); and his painting of the eruption of Vesuvius by night, from German private ownership, is a unique testimony to this momentous natural event.
A vivid and precise account of the eruption, which reached its climax on 8th August, is given by Sir William Hamilton in his report to the Royal Society in London (fig. 2). Sir William was an English envoy to the Neapolitan royal court, as well as an art collector, archaeologist and volcanologist, all of these activities he pursued with the same enthusiasm. Goethe held him in high regard, and he was acquainted with Hackert, who had contributed illustrations to one of Sir William's publications. The report reads almost like a description of Hackert's painting: Vesuvius had already been active throughout July, the activity increased at the beginning of August, until on the night of 8th August a jet of fire erupted three times the height of the mountain. At the same time, a storm arose, clouds and ash darkened the sky, lightning discharged between the clouds, the earth shook everywhere. Hackert shows this nocturnal eruption from Posillipo: Beyond the Gulf of Naples one sees the fire-spouting Vesuvius, to the left the Castel dell'Ovo, in front a group of local fishermen watching the natural spectacle with horror.
Vesuvius was a singular attraction in Naples. Rome, Florence and Venice may have boasted all kinds of monuments and artistic treasures, but they could not boast an active volcano. The 18th-century visitors to Naples on their grand tour did not miss the opportunity to climb the volcano (or be carried up it), as did the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau in the middle of the century (who, as is well known, had a replica of a regularly erupting Vesuvius built in his garden after his return). So it is no coincidence that Jakob Philipp Hackert's first depiction of an eruption of Vesuvius, that of 1774, shows a close-up view of the mountain with a group of daring, curious gentlemen standing directly by the lava flow (fig. 1). It is also no coincidence that another German prince, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, acquired this painting soon after its completion.
Up close, Vesuvius was an adventure; from a distance, viewed from Posillipo, it was an aesthetic event. There, beyond the Gulf of Naples, the volcano showed its most beautiful side, with the gently rising ridge and the two peaks, Monte Somma and Grande Cono (strictly speaking, they are two mountains). Sir William had specially built a villa in Posillipo, whose windows offered an ideal view of Vesuvius in the distance (ill. 3). On 8th August 1779, as he reports, he invited a crowd of guests to observe and celebrate the nocturnal eruption together. Was Hackert one of Hamilton's guests that night (even though the latter only speaks of inviting "countrymen")? Or was Hackert even staying in the royal villa in the immediate vicinity? Perhaps he was in one of the numerous other villas in the Posillipo? In any case, Hackert's choice to depict the nocturnal eruption of Vesuvius from the Posillipo was no accident. After the close-up painted in 1774, this work now shows the view that was considered the most beautiful, spectacular and interesting by the knowledgeable Neapolitan residents. Hamilton uses terms such as "picturesque" and "sublime" to describe the eruption of Vesuvius in his report - terms that stem from contemporary English aesthetics; they are also suitable to characterise this painting by Hackert. Thus, Hackert's painting not only represents the depiction of a unique natural event of the 18th century; it is also testimony to an era in which a European cultural elite with aesthetic, historical and scientific expertise, to which Hackert and Hamilton belonged, gathered in Naples to follow the eruption of Vesuvius on 8th August 1779, from Posillipo.

Abb. 1 / Ill. 1: Jakob Philipp Hackert, Ausbruch des Vesuvs im Jahr 1774 / The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1774 © Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister.

Abb. 2 / Ill. 2: Sir William Hamilton: Supplement to the Campi Phlegræi, Being an Account of the Great Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the Month of August 1779, Neapel/Naples 1779, Titelseite/Front Page.

Abb. 3 / Ill. 3: Sir Joshua Reynolds, Portrait Sir William Hamilton, 1777, London, National Portrait Gallery.