John Martin: The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum (1822)

(Tate Britain,  London, UK)

A piece made by the English painting John Martin (1789 – 1854). Martin is especially knwon for his melodramatic paintings of enormous landscapes filled with the downfall of civilisations. This painting shows the destruction of the cities Pompeii and Herculaneum on August 24, A.D. 79. the viewpoint of the painting is from opposite side of the Bay of Naples with both Roman cities in the background, mount Vesuvius is shown in the early stages of the eruption with billowing ash clouds and lightning. Painting from 1822.