Attrib. James 'Athenian' Stuart Man with Arrows

An original 18th-century ink and wash drawing, Attrib. James 'Athenian' Stuart, Man with Arrows.

An elegant 18th-century ink and wash drawing in grisaille attributed to the Scottish archaeologist, architect and artist James 'Athenian' Stuart (1713–1788).

James Stuart is best known for his central role in pioneering Neoclassicism in Britain in the 18th century. This rare drawing bears the precise style of Stuart's architectural drawings and the composition has the appearance of being part of a decorative frieze or other design.

James Stuart (1713–1788) was born in London to a Scottish sailor who died when he was young. To support the family, the young Stuart was first apprenticed to a fan painter. In about 1742 he set off on foot to Italy, intent on improving his artistic skills. He arrived in Rome, where he was to live for eight years and become a noted connoisseur of art. He worked as a painter and guide to antiquities while studying art and architecture, and also learning Italian, Latin and Greek. He also produced his first major work, his illustrated treatise on the Egyptian obelisk of Psammetichus II within A. M. Bandini's De obelisco Caesaris Augusti.

In 1751 Stuart and his friend Nicholas Revett, a young East Anglian nobleman and amateur architect, visited Greece to measure and record antiquities. Detailed scholarly studies of Roman ruins already existed, but the attempt to apply the same approach to Greek remains was new. After his return to London in 1755, Stuart worked on the first volume of Antiquities of Athens, which was published in 1762. There were more than five hundred subscribers to its first volume; the book helped shape the European understanding of ancient Greece and later became an essential sourcebook for the 19th-century Greek Revival. Its illustrations were among the first of their kind and the work was welcomed by antiquaries, scholars, and gentleman amateurs.

Stuart was also influential in his work as an interior designer, medal designer, and architect, drawing on his first-hand experience of Greek and Roman remains. Notably, he created the first tripod in metal since antiquity. In April 1758 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Examples of Stuart's work can be found in the V&A, London.

Provenance: William Drummond (Covent Garden Gallery, London).

On laid paper. Laid down at the edges on slim laid paper mount with window cut verso.