16
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Four Chinese figures is a 16 by George Chinnery, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
George Chinnery drew four figures in 1835. One stands behind three others who sit low on a stone platform. Maybe they’re playing a quiet game while the fourth watches. In the 1800s, Romanticism often showed daily moments with feeling. Chinnery worked in Macau and India, so this scene feels personal. The linework is sharp but gentle, letting the figures breathe. Look up the technique called cross-hatching next.
A drawing by George Chinnery depicts three figures seated or crouched on a low stone platform, possibly engaged in a game, while a fourth figure stands observing them from behind. The work is part of an album of 130 drawings made during Chinnery’s time in Macau, Guangzhou, and nearby areas. The album was bequeathed in 1928 by James Orange, containing 93 drawings by the artist. Chinnery, a British artist active in India and China, settled in Macau in 1825, where he documented the local and expatriate communities until his death in 1852.
Read the full account in the museum source.
George Chinnery (Chinese: 錢納利; 5 January 1774 – 30 May 1852) was an English painter who spent most of his life in Asia, especially India and southern China.
See the richer artist page
