[1] Through utilizing this technique, Joseph Wright exhibits the sublimity of nature in Vesuvius from Posillipo by Moonlight as well as his other paintings of Mt.

[2] His imagination was particularly captivated by the volcanic activities of Mount Vesuvius, from which he derived many sketches of its textures and painted over 30 versions of it upon his return to England.

[7] Occurring at the same time was the Enlightenment movement, towards which Wright contributed his more popular scientifically and industrially themed works, especially his two most famous pieces: A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery and An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump.

[8] These typically displayed scientific demonstrations in a dimly lit room, suggesting the idea that society should revolve around education.

Vesuvius was indeed a major catastrophic event, because two cities with great archaeological artifacts of ancient Rome lie beneath its volcanic ashes.