Arthur John Strutt (1819–1888), was a British painter, engraver, writer, traveller and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Life

Strutt was born in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

, in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

in south-eastern England. He was the son of the landscape painter

Jacob George Strutt Jacob George Strutt (4 August 1784 – 1867) was a British portrait and landscape painter and engraver in the manner of John Constable. He was the husband of the writer Elizabeth Strutt, and father of the painter, traveller and archaeologist ...

(1790–1864) and the writer and traveller Elizabeth Strutt. The elder Strutt moved to

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

in Switzerland in about 1830. From 1835 to 1837, accompanied by his son and pupil Arthur, he travelled in France and Switzerland, and later in Italy. They settled in Rome, where they opened a

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

. In 1841 Arthur travelled on foot through central and southern Italy and in Sicily. He and his friend, the poet William Jackson (otherwise unknown), started from the Porta San Giovanni of Rome on 30 April 1841, reaching

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

on 15 December, and arriving back at Rome in July of the following year. An account of this journey is given in his ''A Pedestrian Tour in Calabria & Sicily'' published in London, in 1842. In 1849, Strutt and his father had a studio at 52, via del Babuino, an address found both in the ''Roman Advertiser'' and, for Mrs. Strutt, in the address-book of

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime and frequently anthologised after her death. Her work receiv ...

. In 1853 his studio was at 33, via del Mercede; he is described as "a very clever painter of landscapes and Roman costumes, and author of an interesting work on Calabria". In 1869 his studio was at 20, via di S. Basilio, and the description reads: "a very clever painter of landscapes, scenery about Rome, and groups of Roman peasantry and cattle; he has produced some large subjects of the Campagna, of its aqueducts, and the scenery along the Via Appia ... he is the author of an interesting work on Calabria". In 1881 the address is 81, via della Croce, and the description largely unchanged. Strutt died in Rome in 1888.

Archaeology

From 1881 until his death, Strutt was an honorary inspector of antiquities at

Lanuvium Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio, is an ancient city of Latium vetus, some southeast of Rome, a little southwest of the Via Appia. Situated on an isolated hill projecting south from the main mass of the Alban Hills, Lanuvium commanded an extensive view ...

, on the recommendation of

Rodolfo Lanciani Rodolfo Amedeo Lanciani (1 January 1845 – 22 May 1929) was an Italian archaeologist, a pioneering student of ancient Roman topography. Among his many excavations was that of the House of the Vestals in the Roman Forum. Lanciani earned LL.D. ...

; he was made an honorary citizen of the modern town of

Lanuvio Lanuvio is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region of Latium, located about southeast of Rome, on the Alban Hills. Lanuvio borders the following municipalities: Aprilia, Ariccia, Genzano di Roma, Velletri. Hist ...

and elected to the ''Consiglio comunale'' or town council. His descriptions of Latin inscriptions in the area were published in the scientific periodical ''Notizie degli scavi di antichità'' of the Reale Accademia dei Lincei and elsewhere.

Art works

Many of his paintings are of subjects from the Campagna Romana. A celebrated one depicts a meet of the Roman

Hunt Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

with King

Umberto I Umberto I (; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination in 1900. His reign saw Italy's expansion into the Horn of Africa, as well as the creation of the Triple Alliance among Italy, Germany an ...

. His sketchbooks are in the

Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United State ...

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Published work

''A Pedestrian Tour in Calabria & Sicily''
London: T.C. Newby, 1842. Strutt became editor of the weekly '' Roman Advertiser'', the first English-language paper of Italy, in succession to the founding editor, the Irish antiquary Charles Isidore Hemans (1817–1876). 106 issues of ''The Roman Advertiser: Journal of Science, Literature and the Fine Arts'' appeared between 24 October 1846 and 21 April 1849. It was published on Saturday evenings by the Monaldini bookshop at 79, Piazza di Spagna, and cost five baiocchi.

References

19th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English engravers English writers 1888 deaths 1819 births Campagna Romana 19th-century English male artists {{bots, deny=Citation bot