Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples from a Cave

Adolf von Heydeck worked in Rome and later traveled south to Naples. This drawing presents that city's most distinctive attraction: Mount Vesuvius, an active volcano that appears against an otherwise calm sky. Von Heydeck portrayed the scene from within a cave interior, contrasting the potentially overwhelming force of nature with the illusion of protection offered by distance and enclosed space.

Credit: Gift of the John B. Putnam Foundation