Kīlauea by Moonlight
Jules Tavernier, American (born France), 1844 - 1889
about 1885-1889
Oil on panel
Overall: 4 13/16 × 7 1/16 in. (12.2 × 17.9 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Bequest of Dr. Frank P. Stetz, in loving memory of David Stewart Hull, Class of 1960.
2009.43.9
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
19th century
Object Name
Painting
Research Area
Painting
Not on view
Inscriptions
Signed twice (artist's hand?), in brush and ink, on reverse: Jules Tavernier; numbered, in graphite, on reverse: A7132; numbered, in red pencil, on gummed circular label on reverse [also some illegible printing]: 1258; numbered, in black marker, twice on frame reverse: 13439; numbered, in black marker, on frame reverse: 739; inscribed on modern hand-lettered, gilded wood frame label, front of frame: Kilauea By Moonlight / JULES TAVERNIER / 1849-1889
Label
Lava brims and bursts into flame in this depiction of the Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea on Hawai‘i Island, lit only by the partially obscured moon and the glowing rock itself. Dramatic views of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i’s natural wonders became hugely popular in the 1880s, especially among the growing class of wealthy American settlers and tourists. Still active today, Kīlauea most recently erupted on May 3, 2018, destroying some seven hundred homes.
From the 2022 exhibition This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, curated by Jami C. Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art; Barbara J. MacAdam, former Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art; Thomas H. Price, former Curatorial Assistant; Morgan E. Freeman, former DAMLI Native American Art Fellow; and Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art
Course History
ANTH 7.05, Animals and Humans, Laura Ogden, Winter 2022
GEOG 31.01, Postcolonial Geographies, Erin Collins, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ANTH 50.05, Environmental Archaeology, Madeleine McLeester, Winter 2022
ARTH 5.01, Introduction to Contemporary Art, Mary Coffey and Chad Elias, Winter 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
ANTH 3.01, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Chelsey Kivland, Summer 2022
SPAN 65.15, Wonderstruck: Archives and the Production of Knowledge in an Unequal World, Silvia Spitta and Barbara Goebel, Summer 2022
Exhibition History
This Land: American Engagement with the Natural World, Owen Robertson Cheatham Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 5–July 22, 2022.
Provenance
Christies, New York, American paintings auction [Bloch sale], c. 1990-91; sold to David Stewart Hull, New York; bequeathed to Frank P. Stetz, New York; bequeathed to present collection, 2009
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