View of the Gulf of Pozzuoli from Solfatara1803 · Study 1983.14

Context from the museum

Attracted to its dramatic vistas, volcanoes, exotic peasants, and classical ruins, landscape painters of the 1700s and 1800s flocked to the countryside around Naples. This view looks west toward the Gulf of Pozzuoli from just above the Solfatara, an area of volcanic steam vents. The ancient town of Pozzuoli, where the apostle Paul landed on his way to Rome, lies in the distance. Hackert's attention to detail and rendering of form with extreme lucidity is characteristic of German Romantic painting.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

While in Naples, the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe took painting lessons from Philipp Hackert; their meetings were documented in Goethe's travelogue Italienische Reise (Italian Journey).

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for View of the Gulf of Pozzuoli from Solfatara is 166.5 cm wide and 119 cm high, equivalent to approximately 65.6 × 46.9 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.40:1. The rectangular bounding area is 1.98 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 55.5% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 66.8 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With View of the Gulf of Pozzuoli from Solfatara in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on canvas, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 166.5 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?