Charles Rodius (1802-1860)

A native of Cologne, Rodius came to England from Paris in 1827. He was arrested in February 1829 at the Royal Opera house for theft, was convicted at Middlesex Quarter Session on 3 April 1829 and sentenced to transportation for seven years. He was transported on the the convict ship Sarah, which sailed from Portsmouth in August 1829 and landed at Port Jackson on 7 December 1829. The present work, dated 1829, appears to depict an English harbour and was presumably painted before his arrest and transportation.