Thomas Jones (1742-1803): An Artist Rediscovered

In his own lifetime, Welsh landscape painter Jones fell out of circulation due to the perennial caprices: art-world politics, changing tastes, personal finances, lost and damaged works. Happily, his overlooked career offers a singular pleasure--its rediscovery. In connection with the bicentenary of Jones's death and a major exhibition, curator Sumner and scholar Smith have compiled an extensive catalogue of the 18th-century artist's work, including erudite essays that closely examine Jones's trajectory, from apprenticeship with famed painter Richard Wilson to plein-air travels in Italy to his final years in Wales, and his technique: virtuoso paint-handling, precise underdrawing, experimental perspectives and a distinctly warm palette. More compelling than the well-documented text are the reproductions, revealing the evolution of Jones's style and subject matter, as it moved from grand classical themes to small-scale panoramas to humble rooftop laundry lines. The sharply cropped compositions of the artist's Neapolitan oil sketches in particular suggest an innovative, modernist eye,""a proto-photographic presence."" For the uninitiated, the book provides a comprehensive introduction to a fresh talent; for the landscape enthusiast, it is an overdue affirmation. 50 b&w and 150 color reproductions.