Robert Fagan ( – 26 August 1816) was a

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. Born in London, he spent most of his career in Rome and Sicily.

Career

The son of

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

immigrants, Fagan was born ca. 1761 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He arrived in Rome in 1781. Like other artists in Rome he became involved in dealing in antiquities, and, with the financial backing of some British patrons, carried out several archeological digs. In 1792 he excavated at Vigna San Sebastiano on Via Appia, financed by Corbet Corbet (whose portrait he painted that year). In 1793 the visiting British Prince Augustus Frederick secured permission from the Pope for Fagan to export antiquities. As an archaeologist he was involved in the excavations near

Laurentum Laurentum was an ancient Roman city of Latium situated between Ostia and Lavinium, on the west coast of the Italian Peninsula southwest of Rome. Roman writers regarded it as the original capital of Italy, before Lavinium assumed that role afte ...

, which resulted in the discovery of the

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

, now at the

Capitoline The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. Th ...

. As an artist, he made a career out of painting portraits, often for traveling British families. He was married twice, first to Anna Marie Ferri and then to Maria Ludovica Flajani a young Italian girl whom he married in 1801, just six months after his first wife's death. Following the Napoleonic occupation of Rome Fagan fled to Naples in 1797, but after a brief stay in Florence he returned to Rome and managed to despatch to Britain paintings by Claude and Moroni and other possessions to Naples. In 1807 he moved to Sicily. In 1809, following his daughter's marriage to William Baker, Fagan was made British

Consul general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. That year he began digging at Selinunte, and in 1812 at Tyndaris. Fagan fell into debt, and committed suicide in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

by jumping from a window.Obituary in ''Gentleman's Magazine'' (1816 October), p.177 After his death his young widow sold to the Vatican museums the antiquities which he had excavated. His grandson

Louis Alexander Fagan Louis Alexander Fagan (7 February 1845 – 5 January 1903) was an Anglo-Italian writer and artist. He worked in the Department of Prints and Drawings for the British Museum from 1869 to 1894, and wrote various books on the department. A paintin ...

was a noted engraver and writer.Louis A. Fagan
List of donors, British Museum, accessed June 2010 File:Robert Fagan - The Muses, Terpsichore and Polyhymnia.jpg, The Muses, Terpsichore and Polyhymnia (between 1793 and 1795) File:Robert Fagan - The Muses, Clio and Thalia.jpg, The Muses, Clio and Thalia (between 1793 and 1795) File:Robert Fagan - The Muses, Euterpe and Melpomene.jpg, The Muses, Clio and Thalia (between 1793 and 1795) File:Robert Fagan (1761-1816) - 'Pasquino', Menelaus Supporting the Body of Patroclus - 609091 - National Trust.jpg, Pasquino (Menelaus supporting the Body of Patroclus) (between 1793 and 1795)

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fagan, Robert 18th-century British painters British male painters British archaeologists 1761 births 1816 deaths Artists who committed suicide Painters from London Suicides by jumping in Italy 1810s suicides

Career

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Further reading

External links