Piano del Volcano di Napoli denominato Vesuvio...

Piano del Volcano di Napoli denominato il Vesuvio; colle vieppiù rimarchevoli eruzioni seguite in più Tempi.

At the bottom, in a scroll in the form of a ribbon, the dedication: A. S. A. Mad.ma la Principessa Jablonouka nata Princ.sa Sapieha, Palatina di Braclau. 

Below a legend that remembers the principal eruptions of the century: A.. eruzione seguita nell' anno 1723. B.. eruz. nell' anno 37. C.. eruz. nell' anno 51. D.. eruz. nell' anno 54. E.. eruz. nell' anno 60. F.. eruz. nell' anno 67. G.. eruz. nell' anno 70. nel sito detto atrio del cavallo. H.. eruz; nell' anno 71. L.. eruz. spavantevole degli 8 Agosto 79.

Filippo Morghen, born in Florence around 1730, learned the art of drawing from his elder brother; later, he moved to Rome where he remained seven years. In 1752 he arrived in Naples, called together with Giovanni Elia by King Charles of Bourbon to participate in the editorial enterprise of the Antiquities of Herculaneum. In Naples, where he met and married the daughter of Francesco Liani, court painter, he spent the rest of his life, performing many other works of great importance for the lively forge of the Royal Printing House; in this context he established a relationship of particular understanding with Luigi Vanvitelli, who in 1756 entrusted him with the two portraits of the sovereigns for the text Dichiarazione dei disegni del Reale Palazzo di Caserta (Napoli 1756).

In 1769, he published the 40 plates of the Antichità di Pozzuoli, Baja e Cuma, a text addressed mainly to travelers and connoisseurs and dedicated to the Society of Encouragement of Arts, Manifactures and Commerce, to which many British nobles belonged, including William Hamilton, minister plenipotentiary at the Bourbon court and famous collector and art amateur, who had very cordial relations with the artist. 

Copper engraving, printed on contemporary laid paper, with margins, in perfect condition.

Literature

Federigo Furchheim, Bibliografia del Vesuvio: Compilata e Corredata di Note Critiche Estratte.., 2011, p. 235.