The Roman Shadow To look at the landscape tradition of the eighteenth century is to encounter the ghost of John Plimmer. He was a figure defined by his proximity to greatness and his sudden disappearance. Born in the Kingdom of Great Britain, Plimmer’s early life was far removed from the studios of Italy. He began as an apprentice to a master-builder in Blandford, Dorset, a practical beginning that contrasts sharply with the classical ideals he would later chase. By the time he arrived in Rome in 1755, he was already being identified as a painter and sculptor, a man moving toward a specific,…