The Lago d'Agnano, near Naples (formerly called 'Italian Lake Scene'

Wilson's Lago d'Agnano near Naples, painted during his Italian sojourn, depicts one of the volcanic lakes and thermal features of the Phlegraean Fields west of Naples — the landscape of classical mythology associated with the Sybil's cave, the entrance to the Underworld, and the thermal phenomena that gave the region its mysterious character. Wilson's Italian landscapes were based on direct study during his 1750-1758 Italian period, and he maintained a stock of Italian subjects that he worked up for English clients throughout his subsequent career. The Neapolitan volcanic landscape offered Wilson different material from the Roman Campagna — more dramatic, geologically active, associated with different mythological and literary traditions.

Wilson's oil on canvas uses a warm, golden tonality and broad handling of paint to unify the lakeside scene, with atmospheric haze softening distant hills in the manner of his Italian Baroque models.