Collection
/
American Art

A Shower of Ashes upon Ottaviano

Charles Caryl Coleman

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

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.

Caption

Charles Caryl Coleman (American, 1840–1928). A Shower of Ashes upon Ottaviano, April 14, 1906. Pastel on gray-blue laid paper, mounted to 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) frame: 21 5/8 × 18 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (54.9 × 47.6 × 3.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, John B. Woodward Memorial Fund, 20.656. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

American Art

Title

A Shower of Ashes upon Ottaviano

Date

April 14, 1906

Medium

Pastel on gray-blue laid paper, mounted to board

Classification

Drawing

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) frame: 21 5/8 × 18 3/4 × 1 1/2 in. (54.9 × 47.6 × 3.8 cm)

Signatures

Signed, lower left, in blue: "CCC [in monogram] / 10 A.M. / April 14 - 1906"

Markings

Watermark, lower right quadrant of an O shape inside of a larger O

Credit Line

John B. Woodward Memorial Fund

Accession Number

20.656

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Artists and makers

Charles Caryl Coleman

6 works in the collection