Joseph Mallord William Turner

This page contains sketches of Lake Avernus, a volcanic crater lake near Pozzuoli which is represented in classical mythology as the entrance to the underworld. In the bottom right-hand corner is part of a composition continued from the opposite sheet of the double-page spread, see folio 77 verso (D15708; Turner Bequest CLXXXIV 75a), which depicts a view of the lake looking north towards Monte Corvara. A similar composition was depicted by John ‘Warwick’ Smith (1749–1831) in Select Views in Italy, and a copy of this plate can be found in the Italian Guide Book sketchbook (Tate D13969; Turner Bequest CLXXII 20a). For further sketches of Lake Avernus and a discussion of Turner’s related paintings see folio 19 verso (Tate D15592).