The myth of Apollo and the Sibyl comes from the Metamorphoses by the Latin poet Ovid. Apollo asks the Cumaean Sibyl to choose whatever she wishes. She asks for as many years of life as there are grains of sand in her hand. But she forgets to ask for eternal youth, and wastes away until only her voice remains.

This was the first Mediterranean landscape Turner painted after visiting Italy. It vividly recalls the coast of Naples and the azure brilliance of southern light. Like Ovid’s story, it stresses the transience of physical beauty lamented by Romantic poets.