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Aeneas and the Sibyl, Lake Avernus
J. M. W. Turner·1798
Historical Context
Turner's Aeneas and the Sibyl, Lake Avernus from 1798, in the National Gallery, depicts the mythological episode from Virgil's Aeneid in which Aeneas visits the entrance to the Underworld near Naples, guided by the Cumaean Sibyl. The painting demonstrates the young Turner's ambition to rival Claude Lorrain and Richard Wilson in classical landscape painting while already introducing the more atmospheric, emotionally charged effects that would distinguish his mature work. Lake Avernus, the same subject Wilson had painted, allowed Turner to measure himself directly against his predecessor.
Technical Analysis
Turner renders the volcanic lake landscape with warm, golden light that pays tribute to Claude while introducing atmospheric effects of mist and smoke unique to his developing vision. The careful balance between classical composition and atmospheric experimentation reveals an artist on the threshold of his revolutionary maturity.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the golden Claudian light: Turner deliberately evokes Claude Lorrain's Mediterranean light to measure his ambition against the classical landscape tradition.
- ◆Look at the volcanic lake of Avernus: the specific topography of this ancient site — a volcanic crater lake near Naples — is rendered with the atmospheric sensitivity Turner would develop for his Italian subjects.
- ◆Observe Aeneas and the Sibyl as tiny figures in the mythological landscape: their diminutive scale against the vast natural setting establishes the Romantic hierarchy in which nature dwarfs human narrative.
- ◆Find the classical architecture framing the view: the ruins and trees that organize the compositional depth are direct quotations from Claude's compositional formula.
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