Lago Avernus

William Trost Richards

Watercolor, gouache, and graphite on blue wove paper

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lago Avernus is a panoramic watercolor depicting Lake Avernus, the volcanic crater lake near Naples, Italy, long associated in classical antiquity with the entrance to the underworld. Executed in watercolor, gouache, and graphite on blue wove paper, the work exemplifies Richards's meticulous, close-observation approach to landscape — a style shaped by his engagement with both the Hudson River School and the American Pre-Raphaelite movement. Richards's treatment of this subject was likely inspired by J.M.W. Turner, who painted the same lake on multiple occasions and whose works Richards had encountered during his European travels. As one of his earliest watercolors, the work also reflects the pivotal role played by the founding of the American Watercolor Society in 1867, which provided Richards and his contemporaries a dedicated forum for exhibiting work in the medium.