(active Naples 1751–1789)
Explosion in a harbour,
signed and dated lower centre on the wooden planks: CARLO. BONARIA/P. A. 1789,
oil on canvas, 82.5 x 147 cm, framed

Provenance:
Jacques-Antoine Liquier (1732–1810), Dutch Consul General in Naples;
thence by decent to the present owner

This painting is an impressive example of the work of Carlo Bonavia. The composition shows a dramatic view of a harbor with flames illuminating the night sky which is covered in smoke. The red light and explosive force of the fire contrast with the moon, shining calmly above the sea. Despite the late hour, water and land are bustling with people who, on foot or by boat, flee from the catastrophe scene.

Bonavia was active in Naples in the second half of the eighteenth century and is known for his landscape paintings in which he demonstrates a great sensibility in the depiction of the different effects of light and weather. This is perfectly exemplified by the present painting, in which the contrast between the clear night sky to the left and the smoke-hung cityscape to the right is masterfully executed and the small figures are carefully circumscribed by the dim light.

During his formative years, Bonavia studied the works of Salvator Rosa and especially Claude Joseph Vernet, appropriating elements of the latter’s style so thoroughly that there have been occasional misattributions between the works of the two artists. While the harbour depicted by Bonavia in the present painting cannot be identified, it is interesting to note it was depicted it in a similar version sold at Sotheby’s, Paris on 14 June 2022, lot 69.