Fan Design with Eruption of Vesuvius and Three Views 1700 - 1800

Here we see a fan design with the Eruption of Vesuvius and Three Views, created by an anonymous artist. The gouache and watercolour on paper offers a dramatic play of light and form, inviting us to consider its composition. The central image, dominated by the volcano's fiery eruption, contrasts sharply with the flanking vignettes of tranquil landscapes. The composition uses framing devices and contrasting colours. These elements create not just visual interest, but a dialogue about nature's dual capacity for beauty and destruction, a concept much discussed at the time of its creation. Notice how the artist manipulates space: the eruption scene lacks depth, intensifying the immediacy of the event, while the side panels use soft gradients to suggest distance. This contrast in spatial rendering draws us into a world where the sublime meets the picturesque. The semiotic interplay between the decorative frame and the volatile subject destabilises a simple understanding of beauty, pointing to a more complex engagement with the aesthetics of disaster.