17 Works, Today, April 16th is artist Ford Madox Brown's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #105

Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893)

The Romans Building Manchester, c. 1879–1880

Oil on canvas

H 77.4 x W 162.6 cm

Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

The Roman fort of Mamucium was established by 78 AD at a site overlooking the confluence of the rivers Irwell and Medlock. This was a timber fort with earthen ramparts for an auxiliary cohort of infantry of around 500 men.

The fort went through several phase of rebuilding and around 160 AD was extended on one side to incorporate granaries. In around 200 AD it was refaced in stone when the Emperor Severus came to the north of England to subdue a revolt. More on tThe Romans Building Manchester

Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painting was Work (1852–1865) (See below). Brown spent the latter years of his life painting the twelve works known as The Manchester Murals, depicting Mancunian history, for Manchester Town Hall.

Ford Madox Brown  (1821–1893)

The Coat of Many Colours, c. between 1864 and 1866

Oil on canvas

Height: 1,075 mm (42.32 in); Width: 1,032 mm (40.62 in)

Walker Art Gallery,  Liverpool,

In the Bible's Book of Genesis, the coat of many colors is the name for the garment that Joseph owned, which was given to him by his father Jacob.

Joseph's father Jacob favored him and gave Joseph the coat as a gift; as a result, he was envied by his brothers, who saw the special coat as an indication that Joseph would assume family leadership. The narrative tells that his brothers plotted against him when he was 17, and would have killed him had not the eldest brother Reuben interposed. He persuaded them instead to throw Joseph into a pit and secretly planned to rescue him later. However, while Reuben was absent, the others planned to sell him to a company of Ishmaelite merchants. When the passing Midianites arrived, the brothers dragged Joseph up and sold him to the merchants for 20 pieces of silver. The brothers then dipped Joseph's coat in goat blood and showed it to their father, who assumed that Joseph had been torn apart by wild beasts. More on this painting

Ford Madox Brown, 1821-1893

The Supper at Emmaus

Watercolour with pen and ink

54 by 47cm., 21 by 18½in.

Private collection

The painting depicts the moment when the resurrected but incognito Jesus, reveals himself to two of his disciples (presumed to be Luke and Cleopas) in the town of Emmaus, only to soon vanish from their sight.

The Supper at Emmaus was painted in four weeks in early 1876 and described by the artist's grandson; ‘Christ, seated at the centre of the table, offers the wine and bread to the Disciples seated with Him. They, recognising the sign, are struck with wonder and adopt attitudes of adoration. Round windows behind each of the figures’ heads form a kind of halo, but through them the sunlit landscape is to be seen.’  It was conceived for a stained-glass window made in 1871 for the Church of Jesus at Troutbeck in Westmorland. More on this painting

Ford Madox Brown  (1821–1893)

Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet, c. 1852–6

Oil on canvas

116.8 × 133.3 cm (45.9 × 52.4 in)

Tate Britain 

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. More on this painting

Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893)

The Baptism of Saint Edwin, c. 1879

Oil on canvas

H 18 x W 39.5 cm

Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery

Edwin was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity and was baptised in 627; after he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase, he was venerated as a saint.

This painting is a study for one of twelve murals the artist was commissioned to paint for Manchester Town Hall. Each mural illustrates an event in the history of Manchester. This study shows St Edwin, King of Northumbria, being baptised at York in AD 627. St Edwin ruled land as far south as the Mersey. The artist also designed the picture frame. More on Saint Edwin

Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893) (studio of)

Saint Oswald Receiving Saint Aidan (Saint Oswald Sending Missionaries into Scotland), c. after 1865

Oil on canvas

H 56.5 x W 52 cm

Lady Lever Art Gallery, Wirral, Merseyside

Oswald was King of Northumbria from 634 until his death, and is venerated as a saint, of whom there was a particular cult in the Middle Ages.

It was Oswald who did the most to spread the religion in Northumbria. Shortly after becoming king, he asked the Irish of Dál Riata to send a bishop to facilitate the conversion of his people. More on Oswald

Brown's education was limited, as the family frequently moved between lodgings in the Pas-de-Calais and relatives in Kent, but he showed artistic talent in copying of old master prints. His father initially sought a naval career for his son. The family moved to Bruges in 1835 so Brown could study at the academy under Albert Gregorius. Brown moved to Ghent in 1836 to continue his studies under Pieter van Hanselaere. He moved to Antwerp in 1837 to study under Gustaf Wappers. He continued to study in Antwerp after his mother's death in 1839. His sister died in 1840, and then his father in 1842.

He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840, a work inspired by Lord Byron's poem The Giaour (now lost) and then completed a version of The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (See above), with his cousin and future wife Elisabeth Bromley as one of his models. He lived in Montmartre with his new wife and aging father in 1841. He painted Manfred on the Jungfrau (See below), inspired by Lord Byron's poem Manfred while he was in Paris.

Ford Madox Brown  (1821–1893)

Manfred on the Jungfrau, c. 1842

Oil on canvas

Height: 140.2 cm (55.1 in) ; Width: 115 cm (45.2 in)

Manchester Art Gallery 

The subject of this dramatic scene is taken from Lord Byron's romantic poem Manfred. It shows the moment when the hero, Manfred, contemplates suicide but at the last minute is persuaded from going through with it by a chamois hunter. Manfred is at the centre of the picture. He stands on the brink of a precipice crowned with thick snow, clutching his hands to his head in a gesture of despair; his dress is intended to be in the style of that of the tenth or eleventh century, being a red belted tunic worn under a brown cape, both of which are blown to the side by the strong wind, also long, pointed shoes and a small pouch hung from his belt. Standing a little way from the edge of the cliff on the right is the figure of the chamois (goat) hunter. The hunter approaches Manfred with caution; dressed in furs and carrying a long staff, he leans forward and extends his right arm towards the desperate man. In the left background are the snow-capped peaks of distant mountains with clouds of yellow fog swirling about them; the sky is painted in vivid blue and mauve tones. More on this painting

Ford Madox Brown  (1821–1893)

Romeo and Juliet, c. between 1869 and 1870

Romeo and Juliet parting on the balcony

Oil on canvas

Height: 53.3 in (135.5 cm); Width: 37 in (93.9 cm)

Delaware Art Museum

Romeo climbs the Capulet family's garden wall, and sees Juliet alone on her balcony. Unaware that Romeo is nearby, Juliet sighs and speaks her feelings of love out loud. Romeo declares himself to Juliet, and she warns him of the danger of being there. Romeo and Juliet swear their true love to each other, plan a secret marriage, and finally say good night. More on Romeo and Juliet

Ford Madox Brown  (1821–1893)

Haydee discovering the body of Don Juan, c. 1873

Oil on panel

w2157 x h1732 mm

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery  

After being exiled from Spain for his affair with Julia, Don Juan was the sole survivor of a shipwreck which landed him on a Grecian island, the stronghold of the pirate Lambro. He was found there by Lambro's beautiful daughter, Haydée who, with her servant, took him to a cave to nurse him back to health in secret. More on Haydee discovering the body of Don Juan

Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893)

Cordelia's Portion

oil on canvas

H 79.5 x W 111.8 cm

Southampton City Art Gallery

Shakespeare's play King Lear was the inspiration for a number of paintings including several versions of Cordelia's Portion made in the late 1860s and early 1870s.

Cordelia's Portion shows Lear dividing his kingdom between his three daughters with the largest share going to the one who loves him most. Goneril and Regan (on the left) flatter him but Cordelia his favourite daughter (on the right) refuses and is disinherited. Brown enjoyed painting this semi-mythical dark age period and presents Lear as a druid-like figure while the others appear in a mixture of Roman and medieval dress. More on this painting

In 1843 he submitted work to the Westminster Cartoon Competition, for compositions to decorate the new Palace of Westminster. His entry, The Body of Harold Brought before William, was not successful (See below). His early works were, however, greatly admired by the young Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who asked him to become his tutor. Through Rossetti, Brown came into contact with the artists who went on to form the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Though closely linked to them, he was never actually a member of the brotherhood itself, but adopted the bright colours and realistic style of William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais. He was also influenced by the works of Holbein that he saw in Basel in 1845, and by Friedrich Overbeck and Peter Cornelius, whom he met in Rome in 1845–46.

Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893)

Wilhelmus Conquistador (The Body of Harold), c. 1844–1861

Body of Harold brought before William the Conqueror

Oil on canvas

H 105 x W 123.1 cm

Manchester Art Gallery

Scene depicting the dead King Harold brought before William the Conqueror after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. In the central middleground, William sits astride his horse dressed in chain mail with bones hanging from a red cord around his neck. A number of his men, some of them wounded, are around him. The dead Harold is brought before him, carried by soldiers, crown on his head and a broken battle-axe still clenched in his hand. Three men stand to the left looking upon the scene; the first man in a red tunic holds up Harold's legs by a leather strap, the second prays, the third carries several spears and a red standard. To the right, a monk kneels besides a wounded man, bandaging his leg; the injured man leans on a dead soldier and a round shield as he turns to see the dead king. In the bottom left corner, two men are entwined in combat, one having stabbed his attacker in the back. Vast battlefields covered in small tents are visible in the background. More on this painting

Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893)

Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, c. 1839–1841

Oil on canvas

H 77.9 x W 69.1 cm

The Whitworth, Manchester

February 08, 1587, after 19 years of imprisonment, Mary, Queen of Scots is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England for her complicity in a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I. More on Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

Brown struggled to make his mark in the 1850s, with his paintings failing to find buyers, and he considered emigrating to India. In 1852 he started work on two of his most significant works.

Ford Madox Brown  (1821–1893)

The Last of England, c. 1852/1855

Oil on panel

w750 x h825 mm

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery 

The painting depicts a man and his wife seeing England for the last time. The two main figures stare ahead, stony-faced, ignoring the white cliffs of Dover which can be seen disappearing behind them. They are huddled under an umbrella that glistens with sea-spray. The family's clothing and the bundle of books next to them indicate that they are middle class and educated, and so they are not leaving for the reasons that would force the emigration of the working classes.

In the foreground a row of cabbages hang from the ship's rail. In the background are other passengers, including a pair of drunken men, one of whom was conceived by Brown as "shaking his fist and cursing the land of his birth". Also present are "an honest family of the green-grocer kind, father, eldest daughter and younger children". More on this painting

Ford Madox Brown  (1821–1893)

The Traveller, c. 1868–1884

Oil on panel

H 31.6 x W 48.6 cm

Manchester Art Gallery

Night scene outside an inn, of a traveller on horseback leaving the inn, urging his horse round the bend in the road, to left of picture, away from the viewer. In the doorway of the inn, on the right, a group of two women, one holding a baby, and a small boy see him off, a black dog runs after the rider. The woman holding the baby is wearing a red and white striped dress and a white head-dress. Her companion wears a dark dress with a pink shawl, and leans on the other.The boy stands with his hands in his pockets, dressed in short trousers, a loose shirt, and clogs. A warm glow from inside the inn silhouettes the guests sitting inside, through a square window with shutters. A glass panel above the doorway is inscribed 'NOURRITURE POUR / HOMME & BETE' illustrated with a bottle and a glass. Another house is visible behind the inn. Further along the cobbled street on which the traveller is departing, is a wayside shrine of Christ on the cross, next to a shining lamp. More on this painting

Ford Madox Brown  (1821–1893)

The Irish Girl, c. 1860

Oil on canvas laid on board

Height: 286 mm (11.25 in); Width: 276 mm (10.86 in)

Yale Center for British Art 

One of his most famous images is The Last of England (See above), painted from 1852 to 1855. It depicts a pair of stricken emigrants as they sail away on the ship that will take them from England forever. It was inspired by the departure of the Pre-Raphaelite sculptor Thomas Woolner, who had left for Australia. In an unusual tondo format, the painting is structured with Brown's characteristic linear energy, and emphasis on apparently grotesque and banal details, such as the cabbages hanging from the ship's side. The husband and wife are portraits of Brown and his second wife Emma.

Ford Madox Brown  (1821–1893)

Work, c. between 1852 and 1865

Oil on canvas

Height: 137 cm (53.9 in); Width: 197 cm (77.5 in) 

Manchester Art Gallery

The painting attempts to portray, both literally and analytically, the totality of the Victorian social system and the transition from a rural to an urban economy. Brown began the painting in 1852 and completed it in 1865, when he set up a special exhibition to show it along with several of his other works. He wrote a detailed catalogue explaining the significance of the picture.

The picture depicts a group of so-called "navvies" digging up the road to build a tunnel. It is typically assumed that this was part of the extensions of London's sewerage system, which were being undertaken to deal with the threat of typhus and cholera. The workers are in the centre of the painting. On either side of them are individuals who are either unemployed or represent the leisured classes. Behind the workers are two wealthy figures on horseback, whose progress along the road has been halted by the excavations.

The painting also portrays an election campaign, evidenced by posters and people carrying sandwich boards with the name of the candidate "Bobus". A poster also draws attention to the potential presence of a burglar.

Ford Madox Brown  (1821–1893)

Work, 1863

Oil on canvas

w990 x h684 mm

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

A second version (See above), smaller at 684 × 990 mm, was commissioned in 1859 and completed in 1863. This is now in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. It is closely similar, though for the lady with a blue parasol the face of Maria Leathart, the commissioner's wife, replaces that of Mrs Brown in the Manchester version. More on these paintings

Brown's most important painting was Work (1852–1865) (See above), begun in Hampstead in 1852 and which he showed at his retrospective exhibition in 1865. Thomas Plint advanced funds to enable Brown to complete the work, in anticipation of obtaining the finished painting, but died in 1861 before the painting had been completed. In this painting, Brown attempted to depict the totality of the mid-Victorian social experience in a single image, depicting 'navvies' digging up a road (Heath Street in Hampstead, north London) and disrupting the old social hierarchies as they did so. The image erupts into proliferating details from the dynamic centre of the action, as the workers tear a hole in the road – and, symbolically, in the social fabric. Each character represents a particular social class and role in the modern urban environment.

Brown found patrons in the north of England. By the late 1850s he had lost patience with the poor reception he received at the Royal Academy and ceased to show his works there, rejecting an offer from Millais to support his becoming an associate member. He founded the Hogarth Club in 1858. After a successful period of a few years, the club reached over 80 members, including several prominent members of the Royal Academy, but Brown resigned in 1860, and the club collapsed in 1861.

Brown's major achievement after Work was The Manchester Murals, a cycle of twelve paintings ( The Romans Building a Fort at Mancenion (see top), The Baptism of Edwin (see above), The Expulsion of the Danes from Manchester, The Establishment of Flemish Weavers in Manchester A.D. 1363, The Trial of Wycliffe A.D. 1377, The Proclamation regarding Weights and Measures A.D. 1556, Crabtree watching the Transit of Venus A.D. 1639, Chetham's Life's Dream A.D. 1640, Bradshaw's Defence of Manchester A.D. 1642, John Kay, Inventor of the Fly Shuttle A.D. 1753, The Opening of the Bridgewater Canal A.D. 1761, Dalton collecting Marsh-Fire Gas) in the Great Hall of Manchester Town Hall depicting the history of the city. Brown would be 72 by the time he finished the murals. In total, he took six years perfecting the murals, which were his last major work. More on Ford Madox Brown

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