Lake Avernus and the Island of Capri

Richard Wilson's Lake Avernus and the Island of Capri from around 1760, in the National Gallery, depicts the volcanic lake near Naples that the ancient Romans believed was the entrance to the Underworld. Wilson's Italian landscapes, painted during and after his years in Rome, established the classical landscape tradition in British painting, applying the poetic formula of Claude Lorrain to both Italian and British scenery. Lake Avernus, with its mythological associations and its proximity to the ruins of Cumae, was a perfect subject for Wilson's classical sensibility.

Wilson's warm, golden palette creates an atmosphere of classical tranquility, with the volcanic lake's still surface reflecting the surrounding hills. The careful balance of water, land, and sky follows Claude's compositional formula while Wilson's atmospheric handling gives the scene a distinctly British poetic quality.