Marmotinto

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Marmotinto is the art of creating pictures using coloured sand or marble dust and otherwise known as sand painting.

Originating in Europe, and probably based on the Japanese craft of bonseki(aka 'tray-painting'), marmotinto was fleetingly popular in England following a 1783 dinner party given by George III[1] at Windsor Castle who was taken with a display of unfixed coloured sands, sugars and marble dust arranged under glass upon the surface of the dinner table in decorative patterns and including fruit and flowers, and exotic birds which was executed by a Bavarian table-decker named Benjamin Zobel,[2] a friend of George Morland, a painter prominent in the "Isle of Wight School". The King and his courtiers was so impressed with the resulting picture, it was suggested that Zobel find a way to make his compositions permanent and hence the craft of 'marmotinto' or sandpainting was born and proved most successful under the patronage of various members of the royal household including the then Duke of York.

  • Georgian Sand Painting by Benjamin Zobel

  • Victorian Sand Picture of Steephill Castle by Edwin Dore

  • Sand picture postcard of Godshill I.o.Wight

Woburn Abbey in Bedford, England possesses a fine example of the table deckers' craft in the form of an ornate folding room screen with three panels, decorated with sand pictures protected by glass. The centre one has five spaces for sweetmeat pyramid dishes while the two side leaves of the screen have three spaces for fruit trays. There are four sand pictures in each corner of the side panels of the screen, featuring 18th-century pastoral scenes, while the remaining areas of the screen are decorated with butterflies, doves, fruit, flowers, etc. The screen would be laid upon the surface of a side table where it doubled as a serving base for elaborate porcelain dishes and glass trays containing fruits, bonbons and sweetmeats, from which the hosts and their guests could help themselves while socializing or stretching their legs between the multiple courses being served on the main table in the dining hall. This screen is believed to be the work of F. Schweikhardt, Zobel's predecessor at Windsor who specialised in still-life studies in the style of the Dutch painter Jan van Huysum.

Later the craft became popular in the early 19th century as the tourist industry began to develop on the Isle of Wight particularly at Alum Bay where coloured sands were readily available to the visitors should they wish to try their hand at creating their own souvenirs when they disembarked directly onto the beach from the decks of mainland steamers. The locals soon realised an opportunity to develop and market small framed sand pictures and also compressed sand patterns inside glass jars to supplement their meagre income. There are some fine examples of Alum Bay sand pictures at Osborne House and Carisbrook Castle while at the Victoria and Albert Museum the late Queen Mary's impressive collection of Georgian sandpaintings may be viewed by request.

Although marmotinto using coloured sands and marble dust was popular across England and on the continent for a while, beyond its initial fashionable period marmotinto as a fine art is rare indeed. But because of the modern-day enthusiasm for creating environmental friendly craftworks such as sand pictures using only natural coloured sands, supplemented by discarded, recycled and found materials fixed in place with a suitable none toxic adhesive, many of these crafts are now making a well-deserved comeback, encouraged by 'How to Do' instructions in craft magazines and on the web.

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Mechanics' Magazine, Museum, Register, Journal, and Gazette
  2. ↑ Dictionary of artists
  • G. B. Hughes. Decorating the Georgian Dessert Table. Country Life, 21.5.1959.
  • F.C.H.. Marmortinto or Sandpainting. Notes and Queries, pp217/8 11.3.1854
  • J. Mummery. Marmortinto or Sandpainting.Notes and Queries, pp327/8 8.4.1854
  • Fred Lee Carter. The "Lost Art" of sandpainting pp. 215–221. The Connoisseur Illustrated, 1927.
  • Fred Lee Carter. Sand Pictures. Notes and Queries, 8.12.1928.
  • D. A. Ponsonby. A Sand Painter and Morland pp. 111–113. The Connoisseur-American Edition, April 1955.

External links

Appreciation of The Sand Shop on the Isle of Wight

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