Volcanic eruption

Volcanic explosion This painting stems from the collection of the Potoccy family, the former owners of the castle and of Łańcut. It depicts the explosion of a volcano (Vesuvius?), at night, with silhouettes of people looking at this spectacle of nature. The colours of the painting are dark, almost black, with brighter patches of exploding lava, the light from which lights the painting up. A pillar of fire streams from the volcano top, lighting the dark clouds. The flame is surrounded by plumes of blue-grey smoke. The red-yellow coloured lava carries black rocks. Its light creates a pink aura. The painting has a narrow frame – a slat. Its authorship is attributed to Gregorio Fidanza (b. in 1754 in Collevecchio, d. January 1823 in Rome). He specialised in landscape and maritime topics – in - „marinas”, he painted them during different times of the day and in various lighting conditions. He came from an artistic family, his father Filippo, and brothers Francesco and Giuseppe were painters. In the year 1791 he was accepted as a landscape painter at the Accademia Clementina of Bologna. He was very popular among Poles, who eagerly bought his works. He was friends with Marcello Bacciarelli, which significantly simplified his relations with Polish viewers. The discussed painting is shown in the ground floor corridor at the castle.