Carlo Bonavia

Despite the apocryphal inscription ‘Vernet’ accompanied by the date ‘1761’, there is no doubt that this is a painting by the Italian artist Carlo Bonavia, whose characteristic brushstroke can be recognized, especially in the depiction of the rocks, as can his very distinctive colouring, close to pastel.

Although he was one of the great Italian landscape painters of the eighteenth century, Carlo Bonavia is still not well known. Probably born in Rome, from the mid-1750s he was mainly active in Naples, where he remained until his death in 1788. Although originally influenced by the art of Salvator Rosa (1615–1673), he increasingly came under the influence of Joseph Vernet (1714–1789), which created frequent confusions as regards the attribution of his works, as is the case here. Like the famous French landscape painter, Bonavia succeeded in attracting an international clientèle of aristocrats on the Grand Tour, such as Lord Brudenell and Count Karl Joseph Firmian (1716–1782), who was ambassador of Austria in Naples from 1753 to 1758 and who owned no less than seventeen works by the artist.

Alongside Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, the Solfatara volcano, near Naples, was an unmissable sight in the eighteenth century for travellers on the Grand Tour while they were in the region. Bonavia, whose clientèle mostly consisted of these ‘tourists’, shows an elegantly dressed group of them who have come to marvel at the astonishing volcanic landscape. Known for the huge size of its crater, Solfatara was also famous for its sulphurous fumaroles, which the artist made sure to illustrate in the present painting.