Thomas Jones, 'The Grotto at Posillipo', 1782
On loan: Gere Collection Paintings to the Ashmolean (2024 - 2026), The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford, UK About the work
Overview
This sketch was made during Jones's second stay in Naples. It depicts the grotto at Posillipo, a tunnel cut by the ancient Romans to link Naples with Pozzuoli, further west along the coast. The tall, thin tunnel, depicted by numerous artists besides Jones, was a marvel of ancient engineering, and the tomb of the poet Virgil was to be found there, a site no cultivated tourist could miss. The tomb itself can be seen to the right of the main entrance of the tunnel.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Grotto at Posillipo
- Artist
- Thomas Jones
- Artist dates
- 1742 - 1803
- Date made
- 1782
- Medium and support
- Oil on paper laid on board
- Dimensions
- 20.3 × 27.3 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- The Gere Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery
- Inventory number
- L840
- Location
- On loan: Gere Collection Paintings to the Ashmolean (2024 - 2026), The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford, UK
- Image copyright
- The Gere Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery, © Private collection 2000. Used by permission
- Collection
- Main Collection
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
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