Jones was a pupil of Richard Wilson, and due to his influence strove to produce large-scale classical landscapes. From 1776-83 he was in Italy, initially hoping to win commissions from Grand Tourists. The most remarkable works he produced there, however, were his small oil sketches made directly from nature, the best known of these being his highly original views of Neapolitan buildings and rooftops. This landscape also displays the realism associated with these works, but with a hint of the Picturesque (for instance the inclusion of the fisherman in the foreground). Jones most probably based this view on a sketch he made of Vesuvius from Torre Annunziate when staying with the artist G B Lusieri in 1783.
More ...