Painter. Born in London, Chinnery studied at the Royal Academy schools before moving to Dublin, Ireland, where he made a name for himself as a painter of miniature portraits. He did not limit himself to this scope, however, also painting landscapes and large portraits. While there he married his landlord's daughter Marianne Vigne, a woman he would later describe as "the ugliest woman I have ever seen", and they had a son together. In 1802, he experienced financial trouble and moved to India, leaving his family behind. He would spend the rest of his life in Asia. He continued painting and made a good living, but eventually he squandered his fortune supporting an opium addiction. His wife and son came to India to live with him for a while, but once his debts became too heavy he left his family and creditors behind again, moving on to southern China in 1825. It was there where he met and taught Lam Qua, who later became a medical portrait painter. He settled in Macao, and spent much of his time traveling around the Pearl River Delta painting scenes of life. Eventually he fell ill in Hong Kong and later died in Macao of apoplexy. His paintings are of great historical interest because they are among the few that realistically depict everyday scenes in that era.
Painter. Born in London, Chinnery studied at the Royal Academy schools before moving to Dublin, Ireland, where he made a name for himself as a painter of miniature portraits. He did not limit himself to this scope, however, also painting landscapes and large portraits. While there he married his landlord's daughter Marianne Vigne, a woman he would later describe as "the ugliest woman I have ever seen", and they had a son together. In 1802, he experienced financial trouble and moved to India, leaving his family behind. He would spend the rest of his life in Asia. He continued painting and made a good living, but eventually he squandered his fortune supporting an opium addiction. His wife and son came to India to live with him for a while, but once his debts became too heavy he left his family and creditors behind again, moving on to southern China in 1825. It was there where he met and taught Lam Qua, who later became a medical portrait painter. He settled in Macao, and spent much of his time traveling around the Pearl River Delta painting scenes of life. Eventually he fell ill in Hong Kong and later died in Macao of apoplexy. His paintings are of great historical interest because they are among the few that realistically depict everyday scenes in that era.
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
