Lake Avernus - I

Lake Avernus - I
Lake Avernus - I
Lake Avernus - I
Private Collection, England
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Lake Avernus - I
Date
Undated
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 43.1 x 53.4 cm
Imperial: 16 15/16 x 21 in.
Collection
Private Collection, England
Wilson Online Reference
P122J
Description
A view across the lake towards a large ruined building with hills and mountains beyond. In the foreground, on the left, stand some trees. In the centre, there are three figures, two men, one seated on a log and one woman, or perhaps a monk, gesticulating. To the right are an open ancient sarcophagus, woodland and a hill topped by ancient buildings. Behind the group of figures a man bends down to his boat on the lake and further out another boat is is visible.
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Techniques and materials
The colours are notably more varied and more saturated than in many of the other versions and the water in particular is a lovely blue. The clouds and reflections are sensitively handled. A distinctive feature is the bubbliness of the trees' foliage, especially on the left. Taken together these features possibly indicate a late version.
Subject
Lake Avernus lies on the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy, about a mile from Cumae. Filling the crater of an extinct volcano, mephitic vapours rise from its waters, precluding life on its banks, because of which it was believed to be the entrance to the Underworld by the Ancients. Thus in Virgil's Aeneid, Aeneas sacrifices to the gods in the shadow of the forest surrounding Lake Avernus and then follows the Cumaean Sibyl into her cave and down into the Underworld.
Related Prints
E16 James Roberts after Wilson A View in Italy, The British Museum;
E16A James Roberts after Wilson, Lake Avernus (A View in Italy), National Museum Wales, Cardiff.
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Critical commentary
The action of the figures in the centre foreground is clearly significant but hard to infer definitively. One interpretation is that the two male figures have just arrived on the scene by boat, whose owner is still bending within it on the foreshore of the lake, perhaps to anchor or to row it away. Meanwhile his erstwhile passengers engage the sibylline woman with the offering of a plate of food, or sacrifice and in response she directs them on the next stage in their journey with a sweep of her arm. Alternatively the narrative could be more quotidian, with fishermen negotiating a sale with the woman.
Bibliography
Possibly WGC p. 194, pl. 69a version 1 (Capt E.G.S. Churchill, Northwick Park)
Condition/Conservation
Conserved 2015
Updated by Compiler
2021-12-01 00:00:00