| Mercury Sent to Admonish Aeneas | |
|---|---|
_-_Mercury_Sent_to_Admonish_Aeneas_-_N00553_-_National_Gallery.jpg) | |
| Artist | J. M. W. Turner |
| Year | 1850 |
| Type | Oil on canvas,history painting |
| Dimensions | 120.6 cm × 90.2 cm (47.5 in × 35.5 in) |
| Location | Tate Britain,London |
Mercury Sent to Admonish Aeneas is an 1850oil painting by the BritishartistJ.M.W. Turner. Inspired by theepic poemThe Aeneid by the Roman writerVirgil.[1] It depicts the godMercury appearing to theTrojan exileAeneas during a dream, to rebuke him for lingering atCarthage where he had become the lover of the queenDido. Characteristic of Turner's later style, his almostabstract emphasis on light and colour is given priority over the elements of traditionallandscape andhistory painting.[2]
Turner was returning to a subject he had used several times earlier in his career. It was one of four paintings on the theme he submitted to theRoyal Academy Exhibition of 1850 at theNational Gallery inLondon, his final ever appearance at the annualSummer Exhibition. Part of the 1856Turner Bequest to the nation, it is now in the collection of theTate Britain inPimlico.[3]
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