The Crater on the Summit of Mount Vesuvius

96: The Crater on the Summit of Mount Vesuvius

Thomas Jones
Trefonnen Powys 1742 - 1803 Pencerrig, Powys

2019-S.61: Fondation Custodia
Rights held by: Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris

A landowner’s son, Jones had been destined for a career in the church until he entered art school in 1761. From 1763 to 1765, Jones studied under landscape painter Richard Wilson. Wilson encouraged his students to draw from nature, and Jones may have picked up the practice of sketching in oils during this period. In 1776 he went to Italy, spending extended periods in Rome and Naples. While he returned to London in 1783 to manage the family estate, he continued to exhibit at the Royal Academy until 1798.

Text written and researched by Amy Marquis Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge.

Oil on canvas
36 × 44.1 cm

Created: Circa 1778