Visita ao estúdio de George Chinnery

Ainda neste ano de 2020 foram leiloadas duas pinturas de George Chinnery (1774-1852) cujo preço base de licitação rondava as 100 mil libras. Um dos quadros é uma vista sobre o que viria a ser o Jardim Camões (com o Porto Interior ao fundo) - imagem abaixo - e o outro retrata a gruta de Camões.

Chinnery chegou a Macau em 1825. Tornou-se amigo de Christopher Fearon e terá sido na casa deste - no jardim - que foi criado o primeiro estúdio de pintura, até se mudar para uma casa própria no númeo 8 da rua Inácio Batista onde montou o seu atelier. A amizade com o casal Fearon (a mulher chama-se Elisabeth) fez com que Chinnery fosse o padrinho de um dos filhos, Robert, e ensinasse pintura aos três filhos.

Ser alvo de uma pintura de Chinnery era um ritual pelo qual os mais abastados não abdicavam. Os oficiais ingleses não perdiam essa oportunidade. Outro caso foi o de Harriet Low que em 1833, pouco tempo antes de sair de Macau foi pintada por Chinnery.

Sugestão de leitura: 

George Chinnery: no bicentenario de seu nascimento 1774-1974, Manuel Teixeira, Macau.

Autoretrato de Chinnery feito a lápis. Data de 1832 e portanto feito em Macau.

(...) let us leave it and pay a visit to Mr Chinnery an old gentleman upwards of seventy years of who has resided many years in China and devoted himself to painting. By his labours many people at Macao posses some exquisite pictures of Chinese grouped in various combinations and situations and valuable as well for their intrinsic merit as paintings as for the subjects they delineate. A visit to Mr Chinnery's studio is well repaid by an inspection of his numerous sketches by his explanations of the scenes they represent by his ancedotes but more particularly by his enthusiastic expressions of admiration of the beautiful curve in Chinese pigs backs Hogarth's famous line of beauty was but a faint copy of it.

This admiration is evinced in all Mr Chinnery's pictures which are as uniformly distinguished by the presence of a Chinese pig as Wouvermann's are by a white horse Mr Chinnery however does not confine his talents to figures and pigs backs only he has also sketched many curious and peculiar styles of architecture among the Chinese and it was by his recommendation that I visited a temple near the southern end ot Macao looking on the inner harbour. 

This temple or joss a corruption of the Portuguese word Dios God house is placed on the steep and rough side of a hill and is an excellent specimen of the fantastic and artificially picturesque style of building and situation that the Chinese so much delight in. The large building or main body of the the temple to which we gain access through a richly carved and gateway is situated on the level ground at the foot of the hill and is with much gilding carving and many grotesque figures while flights of steps winding paths ornamented altars terraces large circular arches and other etceteras are scattered up the hill side intermingled in confusion with imasses of rock shrubs and trees. (...)

To the various places I have mentioned an occasional walk is taken but the general promenade of foreign residents is in a different direction. At about half past five or six o clock in the afternoon numerous groups of persons on horseback and foot every pedestrian being provided with a stout walking cane are to be sceu bending their steps along the Praya Grande to its northern end where two ways that afterwards again unite lie before them.

One of these only is used by equestrians, who turning somewhat to the left, pass out of the city gate, and through a valley called the Campo, along an ill made road or path which is nevertheless the great thoroughfare to the barrier and the interior while pedestrians either take the same route or proceed along the Quay to the Point already more than once mentioned were under the walls of Fort Saint Antonio at the same time that the eye is gratified by a view of the open sea with the shipping at anchor in the roads and the health refreshed by the deliciously cool sea breeze arc discussed the news of the day whence this spot is in Macaocse parlance denominated Scandal Corner.

A path runs from it gradually ascending on the side of the cliffs that shut out the Campo from the sea an coininanding a most extensive and interesting view of the islands scattered along the coast and through the waters and of the innumerable and various vessels that arc at anchor or moving about in all directions. A few yards up this path from Scandal Corner is a i stone bench that would seem to be the unquestioned property of nursery maids and children who are every fine cvening assembled here in considerable numbers and present as pretty healthy rosy und merry a set of faces as any country town in England can boast of here also the mammas srcquently stop and chat always followed by the sedan chairs without which they never leave the house.

Excerto do jornal The Anglo American (Nova Iorque, EUA), edição de 2.3.1844

Nota: o autor do texto acima faz ainda uma referência a um outro pintor, Lam Qua, discípulo de Chinnery, e que também teve um estúdio de pintura em Macau:

"One day at Macao I asked Lanqua, a well known and deservedly sainous portrait painter, why he did not move over to Hong Kong where he would get so much employment. His answer was: "No proper that all bad Chinamen there".