Thomas Jones and The Last of the Bards

"The Bard," 1774, by Thomas Jones. Amgueddfa Cymru, National Museum Wales, Cardiff. Public Domain

A windswept landscape, captured as the sun sets, draws you in. It is a rugged mountain scene with trees that have endured many storms. The sun descends behind the highest peak, casting a golden glow into the aerial perspective. As your eyes adjust to the evening light, you find yourself drawn to the cliff in the foreground at the edge of a dark sea. Nature seems dark and troubled in the waning light.

The composition focuses on a lone man, standing precariously at the edge of the cliff. Dressed like a Celtic Druid or an old Welsh bard, this man is the last of his kind. Painted by the Welsh Romantic artist Thomas Jones (1742–1803), “The Bard” is based on Thomas Gray’s poem “The Bard: A Pindaric Ode“ (1757) that tells of the Welsh bards’ massacre by England’s King Edward I.

On a rock, whose haughty brow Frowns o'er old Conway’s foaming flood, Rob'd in the sable garb of woe, With haggard eyes the poet stood; (Loose his beard, and hoary hair Stream'd, like a meteor, to the troubled air) And with a master’s hand, and prophet’s fire, Struck the deep sorrows of his lyre.

"The Bard," 1774, by Thomas Jones. Oil on canvas; 45 inches by 66 inches. Amgueddfa Cymru, National Museum Wales, Cardiff. Public Domain

In 1277, King Edward had already conquered Wales, but he greatly feared the influence of the bards, an ancient Celtic order of poets, orators, and composers. Bards were often employed to compose elegies for their lords and patrons and into the 13th century, Wales was the leader of this royal bardic tradition. It is said that King Edward killed 500 bards by 1282, when the Edwardian conquest permanently ended the Welsh prince’s rule.

Ruins reminiscent of Stonehenge are seen in the midground left of Jones’s painting, underscoring the alleged lineage of bards descending from Celtic Druids. The man on the cliff, with his white, windblown hair and beard, could indeed have stepped out of those ancient times. Here, he stands unsteadily at the precipice.

Is this the end? The winds appear to push him back from the cliff, yet he waves goodbye to the world behind. Three of his fellow bards lie on the ground behind him. The artist makes them blend into the rocky landscape, appearing to return to the earth. In the distance, King Edward’s army is seen moving between the mountains.

Details from "The Bard," 1774, by Thomas Jones. Public Domain

Enough for me: with joy I see The different doom our Fates assign. Be thine Despair, and scept’red Care, To triumph, and to die, are mine.” He spoke, and headlong from the mountain’s height Deep in the roaring tide he plung'd to endless night.

The Artist Who Almost Wasn’t One

A portrait of Thomas Jones, 1768, by Giuseppe Marchi. Oil on canvas; 36 inches by 28 inches. Amgueddfa Cymru, National Museum Wales, Cardiff. Public Domain

Having spent his childhood at Pencerrig (near Builth Wells, Wales), Jones was often called “Thomas Jones of Pencerrig” to differentiate him from his father, Thomas Jones of Trefonnen. Although he had an affinity towards art, his family—particularly his uncle—had loftier plans for his future. Intending for him to become a minister, they sent him to Oxford University in England to study at Jesus College.

When his uncle died in 1761, Jones dropped out of Oxford and moved to London. There he enrolled in William Shipley’s drawing school. Shipley was a drawing master, a social reformer, and an inventor, who founded an arts society that later became the Royal Society of Arts.

Still uncertain of his drawing ability, Jones persuaded Richard Wilson, preeminent landscape painter and fellow Welshman, to take him as a pupil. By 1765, Jones was exhibiting at the Society of Artists—the forerunner of the Royal Academy. In 1771, he became a fellow of the Society, and, two years later, he served as its director. During this decade, Jones produced a great body of work, including “The Bard.”

Observing the Natural World

"View With the Dome of S. Maria Degli Angeli, Naples," 1783, by Thomas Jones. Watercolor over graphite; 10 5/8 inches by 16 3/4 inches. The Morgan Library and Museum, New York City. The Morgan Library & Museum

In September of 1776, Jones traveled to Italy, where he continued to study and work from life. He completed quite a few watercolor paintings that departed from the style of his teachers but increased his proficiency for observation.

Jones’s artistry preceded the works of the Barbizon landscape artists, such as Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, who referenced the classical tradition and also worked en plein air (painting outdoors from life). American landscape painter Frederic Church, who also developed watercolor sketches as he traveled, would have also found Jones’s method of working much to his liking.

Although plenty of Jones’s artworks survive, many paintings that had been stored in England, during his sojourn in Italy, were destroyed by water damage. After he inherited his father’s estate at Pencerrig in Wales, he devoted himself to maintaining the estate. Thus, many of his late sketches have to do with new developments in agriculture.

"Ponte Loreto Near Nettuno," before 1787, by Thomas Jones. Oil on paper, laid down on canvas; 13 3/8 inches by 20 7/8 inches. Jointly Owned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Morgan Library & Museum, New York City. The Morgan Library & Museum

Retiring as a professional artist,  Jones wrote poetry, including a poem called titled “Petraeia” about his love for Pencerrig. He speaks in his poetry of how nature was his inspiration and his first teacher:

In these sweet shades kind nature did impart Her first choice lessons to my infant heart, Guided my youthful pencil not to stray From Nature’s laws (and Nature led the way) Nor let it wander wild in fancy’s maze, But shew’d the beauties she herself displays.

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