Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
The Volcano at Night
Jules Tavernier American, born France
Not on view
Tavernier’s volcano paintings display a fusion of European and American landscape traditions, characterized by scenic depictions of the natural world in turbulence or grandeur, often with an element of potential danger for heightened drama. Awe-inspiring natural phenomena rendered with established painterly conventions—such as the shadow-cast moon and gurgling lava here—implied divinity in nature. This artistic approach became associated with the quest to claim regions considered by settlers to be uncharted territories, despite the long-standing and continued presence of Indigenous peoples in those places. A volcano image like this operated in multiple ways: as a demonstration of the goddess Pele’s magnificence; as a form of scientific inquiry during a time of colonial imperialism; and as a type of American romantic landscape focused on westward expansion.
—Healoha Johnston (Native Hawaiian)
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
