Born in Edinburgh, More settled in Rome in 1773 where he lived for twenty years, elected to the Accademia di San Luca in 1784. He achieved a reputation which surpassed all other British artists then working in Italy. More was hailed as the English Claude and charged increasingly high prices for his work. He sent paintings back to the Royal Academy in London regularly for exhibition.

Waterfalls were much painted by More, their inherent drama suiting the concept of the Sublime (see Patricia R. Andrew, Jacob More Biography and a Checklist of Works: The Volume of the Walpole Society, 1989/1990, Vol. 55 (1989/1990), pp. 105-196).

The cascades at Tivoli were one of the best-known sites of Italy. J.R. Cozens also sketched there in 1778, and many visitors marvelled at the huge quantity of water which crashed onto the black rocks below. Neptune’s Grotto or Lair was situated below the cascades, its cluster of mossy rocks a highly picturesque spot. More chose to paint himself in front of the Grotto in his self-portrait, which hangs in the Vasari Corridor of the Uffizi in Florence, its acceptance further enhancing his reputation.