Eruption of the Vesuvius

landscape

In 1820, Dahl made an Italian journey. Staying only briefly in Rome, where the weight of tradition oppressed him, he concentrated on Naples, where the natural scene revealed itself to him in all its multifarity of form and abundance of light. Dahl became completely engrossed in a study of colour nuances and effects of illumination.

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About the Artist

Johan Christian Clausen Dahl

1788 – 1857

Norwegian painter, often called the discoverer of the Norwegian landscape. From 1824 until his death he was a professor at the Academy of Dresden, where he was a friend of Friedrich. The landscapes of Ruisdael were another influence on his Romantic outlook. Through his deep feeling for the grandeur of the landscape of his native country he was a pioneer of the new spirit of nationalism that characterized much Norwegian art in the 19th century.

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