Sir William Hamilton was the British ambassador to the court of Naples and Sicily from 1765 to 1800, as well as a passionate volcanologist. During his time in Italy he must have seen Mount Vesuvius erupt a number of times—certainly enough to leave a lasting impression.
So much so that in 1775 he designed a rotating device that, with mechanical movement and light, could bring to life the fiery magma depicted in Pietro Fabris’ 1771 watercolor, “Night view of a current of lava.” While experts aren’t sure if Hamilton ever advanced the multimedia device beyond the design phase, the preservation of its detailed sketch at the Bordeaux Municipal Library has allowed engineering students in Australia to reconstruct it 250 years later.
Based on a University of Melbourne video, the reconstruction consists of a perforated tube rotating around a source of light, casting moving splotches of brightness on the back of the watercolor painting. The light shines through the canvas so that people regarding the artwork from the front see the light streaming along the painted lava, as if it were really moving.
“It is a wonderful piece of science communication. People around the world have always been fascinated by the immense power of volcanos,” Richard Gillespie, senior curator in the faculty of engineering and information technology at the University of Melbourne, said in a university statement.
The recreation is now the centerpiece of The Grand Tour, an exhibit at the University of Melbourne’s Baillieu Library that explored the educational and touristic trip to Italy that many young British upper-class men undertook in the 18th century.
“I’ve always wanted to recreate the apparatus, and suddenly the opportunity of the exhibition on the Grand Tour at the Baillieu Library gave me the opportunity to, sort of, commission a team,” Gillespie explained in the video. “They are trying to really use 21st-century mechatronics and techniques and electronics to recreate in the same spirit of Hamilton’s originally clockwork-driven and candle-lit apparatus.”
Graduate students Xinyu (Jasmine) Xu and Yuji (Andy) Zeng built the device over three months, incorporating laser-cut timber and acrylic, electronic control systems, and programmable LED lighting.
“It was a fantastic way to build my hands-on problem-solving skills,” said Zeng. “We still faced some of the challenges that Hamilton faced. The light had to be designed and balanced so the mechanisms were hidden from view.”
For those of you in Australia, The Grand Tour exhibition is slated to run until June 28, 2026, also showcasing objects related to Hamilton’s time in Naples.
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