John Linnell trained under the Royal Academy schools from 1805. Although at this time he painted solely portraits and watercolours, his true passion for landscapes is identifiable from the renderings of the backgrounds in his portraits. He eventually resigned his short membership to the Old Watercolour Society to concentrate on landscape painting, and to establish a style which was to remain consistent throughout his life.

Linnell was a friend and patron of Blake, and was one of the first to recognise his genius. He shared with Blake a strong religious belief. His landscapes are infused with a sense of the grandeur of nature, and a spiritual force similar to that within Blake’s own work.