At Sorrentum, the Rocks

Executed in watercolour, the work employs delicate washes to achieve soft tonal transitions. Jones’s handling of light and atmospheric perspective shows the influence of contemporary British watercolourist John Robert Cozens, whose own Italian vistas share a similar lyrical quality.

Created during Jones’s extended Italian sojourn, the piece reflects the period when he kept extensive sketchbooks of his travels. Although he later gained greater recognition for oil sketches, his watercolours from this era remain valuable records of his early artistic development.

Jones’s Italian period coincided with a broader British interest in Grand Tour landscapes. His memoirs, written while in Rome and Naples, provide key insights into the artistic circles, patrons, and collectors active in Italy at the time, situating this work within that cultural exchange.