2019-04-01_Astronomy

Did optical effects from

volcanic aerosols affect the

way this Neo-Impressionist

artist approached his canvas?

by Stephen James O’Meara

vibrant sunsets induced by the

weather-altering 1815 eruption

of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora

— the most powerful volcanic

event in recorded history.

William Ascroft of Chelsea,

London, captured what are

arguably the most faithful rep-

resentations of sunset skies

infused with aerosols from the

1883 eruption of Krakatau

(formerly Krakatoa, also in

Indonesia). He made more than

500 crayon sketches of the

changing hues, several of which

appear as the frontispiece of the

1888 Royal Society publication,

“The eruption of Krakatoa, and

subsequent phenomena.” And

in 2004, Don Olsen of the

University of Texas at Austin

added Norwegian artist Edvard

Munch’s The Scream (1893) to

the tally of paintings inspired

by the sunsets observed in the

three years following Krakatau’s

historic blast.

These artists may not have

been alone. In a 2014 paper

in the scientific journal

rat ’s sky

ABOVE: Georges Seurat (1859–1891),

as pictured in Lucie Cousturier’s 1888

book, Georges Seurat. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

LEFT: Seurat painted Bathers at

Asnières in 1883 at the age of 24. This

giant work (118 by 79 inches [301 by

201 centimeters]) shows a riverside

location at the Seine just 4 miles

(6.4 kilometers) from the center of Paris.

Note how he colored the sky to reflect

the pollution spewing from the factory

smokestack in the distance. WIKIMEDIA

COMMONS/NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

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