William Hamilton’s Campi Phlegraei, or “The Flaming Fields,” documented the late eighteenth century eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, arguing that, over geological timescales, volcanoes have been a creative force that have contributed to the picturesque landscape and fertile soils of southern Italy. To illustrate the work, Hamilton employed Anglo-Neapolitan artist Pietro Fabris, who created sketches in situ. These were reproduced as etchings and hand-colored by local artists.
(Image by the Wellcome Library, London, CC BY 4.0).
