Peter Monamy
Peter Monamy (baptized 12. January 1681 in London ; buried 7. February 1749 in Westminster ) was a British marine painter .
Life
We are not informed about his exact birthday, only the baptism is recorded. Parents, Pierre and Dorothy Monamy, lived in the Minories , a street north of the Tower of London, and he was the youngest of four children. The family can be traced back to the Channel Islands in the 16th century . The father's professional activities are described as "import-export" across the Channel Islands. The changing residential addresses and a prison sentence are seen as evidence of smuggling operations. In 1696, at the age of 15, he began an apprenticeship with a bookbinder for seven years. Subsequently, a wedding with a woman named Margaret is known. Presumably she died after the birth of a daughter in 1706. In 1709 he married Hanna Christopher. The family often moves to different apartments, because each birth of a child can be found in a different church book. The first three children must have died early. A daughter Mary seems to have survived and in 1725 there is another daughter Ann in the church register. Only in the years from 1725 are trips to ports and coasts of England mentioned. A painting relating to a boat race in 1715 is considered the first known work. At the age of 50 he is called "famous". A painting with his portrait was also published as a mezzotint in 1731 . The inscription on it puts it on a level with the van de Veldes: "Petrus Monamy / Navium et Prospectum Marionorum Pictor: / Vandeveldo Soli Secundus". Around this time he also made the acquaintance of Thomas Walker, who supports him as a patron and as an art collector. A painting of these two people was made by William Hogarth . In the Vauxhall Gardens there were closed pavilions in which well-known artists were invited to exhibit. In addition to Hogarth, Francis Hayman and Peter Monamy were also included in the reopening year of 1736 . He died in early February 1749 and was buried in St. Margaret's Church in Westminster, London . The surviving daughter Mary married the marine painter Francis Swaine in 1749. The children from this marriage also become marine painters. But it is believed that they only complete the many unfinished works of Peter Monamy. As early as 1750, the entire Monamy collection (drawings, paintings also by the van de Veldes) was auctioned off due to the lack of money of the daughter Mary Monamy.
plant
Peter Monamy was the first British marine painter and is therefore regarded as the "founding father" of British marine painting. Most of the marine painters who previously worked in England came from the Netherlands . These include the then famous artists father and son Willem van de Velde, but also Isaac Sailmaker , Jacob Knyff, Jan Karel Donatus van Beecq, L. d. Man, Richard and Hamphrey Vale, Jan van Hagen and Adrian van Diest. A special aspect of his creative period was a long time for early modern Great Britain without major sea battles. From the Peace of Utrecht in 1714 to the beginning of the Austrian War of Succession in 1740, there was only the sea battle off Cape Passero in 1718, which could have resulted in new orders for a marine painter. In the war of the Quadruple Alliance and in the Anglo-Spanish War from 1727 to 1729 , apart from this naval battle, more individual battles could be recognized. It was not until 1739, with the conquest of Portobelo , that another major event could serve as an occasion. At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession , the Dutch marine painters and their workshops were still active, and at the beginning of the War of the Austrian Succession a new generation of British marine painters such as Charles Brooking , Samuel Scott , Francis Swaine or Dominic Serres were active.
Little information is known about his professional environment until around 1720. It is therefore astonishing that in the years that followed he was regarded as a famous and accomplished marine painter. There is no evidence of the training or cause for it. In 1726 he became a member of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers (a painters' guild). The sample required for this is based closely on a well-known late work by the younger Willem van de Velde . It is still there today. In addition to paintings, shop signs, business premises and home furnishings were also part of his spectrum. It was not so much the overall furnishings that could be seen, but rather only the attachment of maritime motifs. A shop sign with a motif from one of his paintings can be seen in an engraving by William Hogarth. The template for this picture comes from a painting which he exhibited in Vauxhall Gardens.
For the prints, which became more and more popular in the 18th century, Peter Monamy tried the older etching and quickly switched to the more modern mezzotint . The graphic templates were adapted accordingly, first in lines and then washed. His paintings exhibited in Vauxhall Gardens in particular were converted into prints by professional graphic artists and published.
Several themes can be identified in his oeuvre, which he depicted in his roughly 250 and 300 paintings.
- known events (sea battles, individual skirmishes, Eddystone lighthouse representations, royal trips)
- Views from the sea on landmarks or harbors
- formal ship portraits
- Ships in a light breeze or calm
- Storm scenes
- Moonlight scenes
- Ships on fire
- Copies or close imitations of van de Velde motifs
The conquest of the Spanish Princesa in 1740 is known in three versions by Monamy.
Arrival of the Queen of Portugal in Spithead in 1708. In the middle the Royal Anne , the flagship Admiral Byng .
Sink of the Victory in the Channel in 1744. An attributed work
Example of a print published motif from one of the paintings from Vauxhall Gardens
literature
- David Joel, James Taylor: Charles Brooking (1723-59) and the 18th Century Marine Painters. Woodbridge 1999, ISBN 978-1-85149-277-0 .
- FB Cockett: Peter Monamy 1681-1749 and his circle. Woodbridge 2000, ISBN 1-85149-339-5 .
- FB Cockett: Early Sea Painters 1660-1730. The group who worked in England under the shadow of Van de Veldes. Woodbridge 1995, ISBN 1-85149-230-5 .
Web links
- detailed private website about the biography and various aspects of the work and background
Footnotes
- ↑ Painting by Willem van de Velde the Younger in a motif that is often reproduced and repeated by many marine painters in their own interpretations.
- ↑ The shop sign is halved from the edge of the picture and is located halfway up the left edge of the picture. You can still read “o bello”. It refers to the attack on the Spanish fortress of Porto Bello by Admiral Vernon on November 21, 1739.
- ↑ In the National Maritime Museum, 250 paintings are either known directly by him or are attributed to him.
- ^ In the Witt Photographic Library, London
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Monamy, Peter |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | baptized January 12, 1681 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |
| DATE OF DEATH | buried February 7, 1749 |
| Place of death | London |