Pietro Fabris (Italian, active 1756-1779)
Illustrations for William Hamilton’s 'Campi Phlegraei' (1776-1779)

etchings with original hand-colouring in watercolour
Each unframed: 19.6 x 37.7 cm. (7 3/4 x 14 7/8 in.) Each framed: 38.5 x 55 cm. (15 1/4 x 21 5/8 in.)
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William Hamilton (1730-1803) spent a large part of his life in Naples, observing the volcanic activity, collecting antiquities, and leading travellers, including royalty, to the summit of nearby mountains. Present for the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius during the mid-late eighteenth century, Hamilton wrote Campi Phlegraei in two parts, based on his Observations on Mount Vesuvius (1772) for the Royal Society. To illustrate these volumes, Hamilton commissioned the English-born Neapolitan artist Pietro Fabris; fifty-nine of the resultant gouaches were engraved and hand-coloured to accompany Campi Phlegraei.