Collection
/
American Art

The Last Days of Pompeii

James Hamilton

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E. and subsequent devastation of Pompeii (in present-day Italy) was a popular and fascinating narrative in the mid-eighteenth century, particularly among Romantic painters on both sides of the Atlantic. At that time the volcano began a sustained period of renewed activity. Simultaneously, archaeologists began excavations of the ancient buried city.

This cataclysmic theme, which lends itself to ruminations on the cyclical nature of societies and civilizations, continued to appeal to artists in the mid-nineteenth century.

Caption

James Hamilton (American, 1819–1878). The Last Days of Pompeii, 1864. Oil on canvas, 59 15/16 x 48 1/16 in. (152.2 x 122 cm) frame: 69 1/2 x 57 1/2 x 4 in., 96 lb. (176.5 x 146.1 x 10.2 cm, 43.55kg). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 55.138. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

American Art

Title

The Last Days of Pompeii

Date

1864

Medium

Oil on canvas

Classification

Painting

Dimensions

59 15/16 x 48 1/16 in. (152.2 x 122 cm) frame: 69 1/2 x 57 1/2 x 4 in., 96 lb. (176.5 x 146.1 x 10.2 cm, 43.55kg)

Inscriptions

Inscribed verso: "From Bulwers/ "The Last Days of Pompeii'/ Jas Hamilton/ Philada 1864"

Credit Line

Dick S. Ramsay Fund

Accession Number

55.138

Frequent Art Questions

  • Can you give me an in depth description of how the different parts of these paintings evoke the end of the world aside from their darkness?

    Besides the darkness, both also focus explicitly on destruction, including with the use of sometimes violent brushstrokes. In the case of Colman's painting, there is also a good amount of symbolism implying apocalyptic destruction. For instance, the falling winged figure is a representation of father time, one fundamental aspect of the world that is falling apart!
    In the case of the Hamilton, while Hamilton is showing us a real event, the end of a city rather than the world, his interest is in the cyclical nature of civilizations.
    Thanks for the answer, well said.

Have information?

Have information about an artwork? Contact us at

bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org.

Artists and makers

James Hamilton

6 works in the collection