Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus Declaiming 1779 Joseph Wright (Wright of Derby) British Wright depicts a site that had long been a popular destination for visitors to Naples. Indeed he could reasonably expect that Londoners who viewed this painting at the Royal Academy in 1779 would recognize the tomb of Virgil (70–19 ), author of the Aeneid. Perhaps more obscure is the figure, Silius Italicus, the Roman orator who commemorated the anniversary of the great poet’s death each year by reading his verses aloud within the tomb. As a meditation on mortality, Wright fittingly con
Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus Declaiming 1779 Joseph Wright (Wright of Derby) British Wright depicts a site that had long been a popular destination for visitors to Naples. Indeed he could reasonably expect that Londoners who viewed this painting at the Royal Academy in 1779 would recognize the tomb of Virgil (70–19 ), author of the Aeneid. Perhaps more obscure is the figure, Silius Italicus, the Roman orator who commemorated the anniversary of the great poet’s death each year by reading his verses aloud within the tomb. As a meditation on mortality, Wright fittingly contrasts the flickering glow of the lantern and the silvery moonlight spreading over the Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus Declaiming 441769
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Photo credit: © MET/BOT / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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