Capriccio with Pantheon

This splendid "Marine with Aeneas at Delos" is by the French painter Claude Lorrain, who, in the height of the Baroque era, created a cycle of six paintings with scenes from Virgil's Aeneid.

The work, dating back to 1672, depicts Aeneas just arriving on the island of Delos after fleeing Troy. The hero, still armed and covered with a red cloak, is with his son Ascanius and his elderly father Anchises, in the presence of King Anius, who is dressed in a long white robe and a laurel crown. Anius, the mythical priest and son of Apollo, shows the visitors the wonders of the island, which once welcomed his progenitor Leto, who was also fleeing to give birth to the children conceived with Zeus, namely the twins Apollo and Artemis.
In the background, the majestic temple of the god stands, which the painter imagines as one of the most famous monuments of Antiquity, the Pantheon, a clear omen of Aeneas's destiny and the birth of Rome.

The painting is housed in London at the National Gallery, where it has been since 1876.