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Christopher William Hunneman

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Christopher William Hunnemann
BornMay 1755
Died21 November 1793
Soho, London
NationalityBritish

Christopher William Hunnemann or Christopher Wilhelm Hanneman (May 1755 – 21 November 1793) was a British portrait painter.

Life[edit]

Sir John Soane by Christopher William Hunneman in 1776

Christopher Wilhelm Hanneman was born in May 1755 presumably near Hanover where his father was a court physician. He joined the Royal Academy in December 1773 and three years later he was awarded the academy's silver medal. He established himself as a portrait painter creating a half length portrait for Sir John Soane in 1776 (Some say 1779[1]), which he called Portrait of a Young Artist.[2] He gained work copying paintings in the collection of George III including work by Thomas Gainsborough.[2]

From 1777 he was a habitual exhibitor of his work every year at the Royal Academy. The work was usually in miniature but could be in oils or crayon.[1]

Hunneman was living in Frith Street in Soho in 1790.[3] He died in 1793 on 21 November in Soho. Causes of death are unclear, though some contemporary reports mention he died masturbating.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b L. H. Cust, ‘Hünnemann , Christopher William (1755–1793)’, rev. Annette Peach, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 7 Sept 2013
  2. ^ a b 4 artworks by or after Christopher William Hunneman at the Art UK site
  3. ^ 'Frith and Bateman Street: Portland Estate: Frith Street', Survey of London: volumes 33 and 34: St Anne Soho (1966), pp. 151-166. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=41075 Date accessed: 08 September 2013
  4. ^ Will of Christopher William Hunneman, Portrait and Miniature Pointer of Soho , Middlesex, National Archives, London, accessed 7 September 2013