Collections: American Art: A Shower of Ashes Upon Ottaviano

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A Shower of Ashes Upon Ottaviano

Best known for the more highly finished technique of his oils, Charles Caryl Coleman here employed the spontaneous medium of pastel to record the aftermath of the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius, not far from the artist’s home on the island of Capri, in Italy. Coleman’s depiction of the event closely resembles period photographs of the climax of the disaster on April 7, when lava fountains and earthquakes decimated the small, nearby town of Ottaviano.


• Artist: Charles Caryl Coleman, American, 1840-1928
• Medium: Pastel and colored pencil on gray-blue laid paper mounted overall to 1/8" board
• Dates: April 14, 1906
• Dimensions: Image: 10 9/16 x 8 7/16 in. (26.8 x 21.4 cm) Mounting board: 18 1/2 x 16 3/8 in. (47 x 41.6 cm) Framed: 21 5/8 x 18 3/4 in. (54.9 x 47.6 cm)
• Markings: Watermark, lower right quadrant of an O shape inside of a larger O
• Signature: Signed, lower left, in blue: "CCC [in monogram] / 10 A.M. / April 14 - 1906"
• Collections: American Art
• Museum Location: This item is not on view
• Accession Number: 20.656
• Credit Line: John B. Woodward Memorial Fund
• Image: Overall, 20.656_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
Charles Caryl Coleman (American, 1840-1928). A Shower of Ashes Upon Ottaviano, April 14, 1906. Pastel and colored pencil on gray-blue laid paper mounted overall to 1/8" board, Image: 10 9/16 x 8 7/16 in. (26.8 x 21.4 cm) Mounting board: 18 1/2 x 16 3/8 in. (47 x 41.6 cm) Framed: 21 5/8 x 18 3/4 in. (54.9 x 47.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 20.656 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 20.656_PS2.jpg)