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Lot Essay
Lake Avernus, located in a volcanic crater to the west of Naples beyond Pozzuoli, is a celebrated beauty spot frequently portrayed by artists in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, among them Richard Wilson, Thomas Jones, Jakob Philip Hackert and J.M.W. Turner. It was an important site in Roman times as the location of the entrance to the underworld and the abode of the Cumean Sibyl, as recounted by Virgil in the Aeneid. For his view, Lusieri chose the classic vantage point, looking south across the lake and the narrow isthmus dividing it from the Bay of Baia, with the Capo Miseno promontory beyond. The semi-ruined Temple of Apollo (in Lusieri's day thought to be dedicated to Juno or Proserpina) on the eastern shore of the lake was the subject of a detailed study by Lusieri. The rocky bluff at the left was introduced by the artist to frame the composition (Weston-Lewis, op. cit., p. 140).
This view of Lake Avernus was evidently one of Lusieri's most popular compositions as, in addition to the present drawing, there are two complete tracings on multiple sheets in the Elgin collection (Weston-Lewis, op. cit., p. 141, fig. 83) and two further finished examples, one which emerged on the New York art market in 2008 (59.7 x 80 cm.; Weston-Lewis, op. cit., no. 52) and another, formerly in the Elgin collection and sold in 1986 (62.5 x 93 cm.; Sotheby's, London, 30 June 1986, lot 108), which is thought to be the prime version. The present watercolour is the only one that is signed and dated. The major elements of the composition, including the foreground figures, are the same in all three versions, but the former Elgin watercolour is somewhat wider and has two figures in the right middle ground, rather than three. Further testament to the success of this composition is the existence of a copy in oils signed by the otherwise unknown 'J. Orr' and dated 1807 (Weston-Lewis, op. cit., p. 141).
During his own lifetime Lusieri was famous, not simply for the beauty of this views, but also for the painstaking way in which he created them. He began by drawing the outlines of the entire composition in a hard pencil which was sent to him specially from London. He then began adding the watercolour, by his own account directly in situ, building it up in layers to achieve the richness and density that distinguishes his works. He worked out the figures on individual sheets and then incorporated them into the composition. There are three watercolour studies in the Elgin collection for the present drawing: the standing man with the hoe, the dog accompanying him, and the woman on the donkey (op. cit., nos. 33, 45, and fig. 82).
This view of Lake Avernus was evidently one of Lusieri's most popular compositions as, in addition to the present drawing, there are two complete tracings on multiple sheets in the Elgin collection (Weston-Lewis, op. cit., p. 141, fig. 83) and two further finished examples, one which emerged on the New York art market in 2008 (59.7 x 80 cm.; Weston-Lewis, op. cit., no. 52) and another, formerly in the Elgin collection and sold in 1986 (62.5 x 93 cm.; Sotheby's, London, 30 June 1986, lot 108), which is thought to be the prime version. The present watercolour is the only one that is signed and dated. The major elements of the composition, including the foreground figures, are the same in all three versions, but the former Elgin watercolour is somewhat wider and has two figures in the right middle ground, rather than three. Further testament to the success of this composition is the existence of a copy in oils signed by the otherwise unknown 'J. Orr' and dated 1807 (Weston-Lewis, op. cit., p. 141).
During his own lifetime Lusieri was famous, not simply for the beauty of this views, but also for the painstaking way in which he created them. He began by drawing the outlines of the entire composition in a hard pencil which was sent to him specially from London. He then began adding the watercolour, by his own account directly in situ, building it up in layers to achieve the richness and density that distinguishes his works. He worked out the figures on individual sheets and then incorporated them into the composition. There are three watercolour studies in the Elgin collection for the present drawing: the standing man with the hoe, the dog accompanying him, and the woman on the donkey (op. cit., nos. 33, 45, and fig. 82).