Alexander Munro (26 October 1825 – 1 January 1871) was a British sculptor of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. He concentrated on portraiture and statues, but is best known for his Rossetti-influenced figure-group Paolo and Francesca (1852), which has often been identified as the epitome of Pre-Raphaelite sculpture.[1]
Lionel Cust described his work as "sketchy and wanting in strength, but full of refinement and true feeling."[2]
Life
Munro was born at Sutherland in Scotland.[3] He was the son of a stonemason, and his talents were supported by financial assistance from his father's employer, the Duchess of Sutherland.[3] From 1842 he assisted and trained in the Edinburgh studio of the sculptor Alexander Handyside Ritchie. He came to London in 1848 to study sculpture and, under Charles Barry, to work as a mason on the new Palace of Westminster.[3][2] He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1849 to 1870, and in the Great Exhibition of 1851.[4] Between 1853 and 1865 Munro created a number of portrait busts of children for society families.[3]
Munro's sculptures were noted for their formal simplicity. His most famous work was Paolo and Francesca, which was exhibited at the 1851 exhibition.[4] It depicted the lovers as languid, dreamy and genteel, contributing to the popular image of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. The final marble version is in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. The original plaster version of the sculpture is currently on display in Wallington Hall, which also contains a portrait relief bust of Pauline, Lady Trevelyan created by Munro.
Munro suffered from ill health, and was struck down by a lung disease which slowly undermined his constitution. In his last years he and his wife lived in Cannes, France, for his health,[2] and this is where he died on New Year's Day 1871.[3]
^The Long Engagement — Compositional Sketch and Sketch of Clasped Hands / Study of a reclining Woman, Pre-Raphaelite Online Resource Archived 29 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
External links
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Munro, Alexander (DNB00)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander Munro.
39 artworks by or after Alexander Munro at the Art UK site