Like his teacher, Richard Wilson, Jones spent seven years in Italy, from 1776 to 1783. During the last three years of his time there he lived in Naples. This study comes from a group of paintings depicting the view from the flat roof (lastricia) of his lodgings from which he could see a ‘great part of the city’ as well as ‘the Rocks, Buildings, & Vineyards about Capo di Monte’. Although Jones is now remembered particularly for these striking oil sketches, such pictures were unusual at the time. His classical training is reflected in the harmony and aesthetic logic that he imposed on the landscape.
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