Paul Sandby Munn, (1773 – 1845) was an English
water-colour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
painter.
Life
Paul Sanby Munn, born at Thornton Row,
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
, on 8 February 1773, was son of James Munn, carriage decorator and landscape-painter, and Charlotte Mills, his wife. His father was an occasional exhibitor at the
Old Society of Painters in Water-colours
The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wat ...
and at the
Society of Artists from 1764 to 1774. Munn was named after his godfather,
Paul Sandby
Paul Sandby (1731 – 7 November 1809) was an English map-maker turned landscape painter in watercolours, who, along with his older brother Thomas, became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768.
Life and work
Sandby was ...
, who gave him his first instructions in water-colour painting. He first exhibited at the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
in 1798, sending some views in the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
, and was subsequently a frequent contributor of topographical drawings to that and other exhibitions. He was elected an associate exhibitor of the Old Society of Painters in Water-colours in 1806, and was for some years a contributor to their exhibitions. He was an intimate friend of
John Sell Cotman
John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English marine and landscape painter, etcher, illustrator, author and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters.
Born in Norwich, the son of a silk merchant and lace dealer, Cot ...
, and they made several sketching tours together at home and abroad. He drew some of the views in
Britton's ''
Beauties of England and Wales
Beauty is an aesthetic characteristic.
Beauty may also refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Beauty (quantum number) or bottomness, a flavour quantum number
* Mathematical beauty, a mathematical philosophy
Characters
* Beauty (''Belle''), a ...
''.
Munn's drawings are delicately and carefully executed, usually in pale and thin colours, resembling the tinted drawings of the early school of water-colour painting. In 1894 there were examples in the
South Kensington Museum
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
and the print room,
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. Munn painted little after 1832, when he devoted himself chiefly to music. He married Cecilia, daughter of Captain Timothy Essex, but died without issue at
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...
on 17 February 1845.
[Cust 1894, pp. 304–305.]
References
Bibliography
*
* Oliver, Valerie Cassel, ed. (2011)
"Munn, Paul Sandby" In ''
Benezit Dictionary of Artists
The ''Benezit Dictionary of Artists'' (in French, ''Bénézit: Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs'') is an extensive publication of bibliographical information on painters, sculptors, designers and engravers created ...
''. Oxford University Press.
* Sloman, Susan (2004)
"Munn, Paul Sandby (1773–1845), watercolour painter" In ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press.
{{Authority control (arts)
1773 births
1845 deaths
19th-century English painters
English watercolourists