Snow Storm, Hannibal and His Army Crossing the Alps

The painting depicts the struggle of Hannibal's soldiers to cross the Maritime Alps in 218 BC, opposed by the forces of nature and local tribes. A curving black storm cloud dominates the sky, poised to descend on the soldiers in the valley below, with an orange-yellow sun attempting to break through the clouds. A white avalanche cascades down the mountain to the right. Hannibal himself is not clearly depicted, but may be riding the elephant just visible in the distance.

Turner saw parallels between Hannibal and Napoleon, and the historic Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage and the contemporary Napoleonic Wars between Britain and France. The painting is Turner's response to Jacques-Louis David's portrait Napoleon Crossing the Alps, which shows Napoleon leading his army over the Great St Bernard Pass in May 1800. Turner had seen this painting during a visit to Paris in 1802.