Ford Madox Brown – Kathrin Teh

Despite being faced with adversity and negative criticism throughout his career, British painter Ford Madox Brown persevered to create many stunning works in his career.

Originally corralled into a naval career, Brown sought to pursue his artistic endeavours rather than follow the path his father – member of the Royal Navy – had laid out for him. He decided to leave his home in London for Belgium to study art at 16 years old. This turned out to be a questionable career path, as he didn’t meet the level of success he was hoping for when returning to England. He entered many competitions for commissions – including one for the Palace of Westminster – but his entries were always declined.

Little did he know that opportunity would soon knock on his door, quite literally. The day Dante Gabriel Rossetti appeared at Brown’s home with entreaties to become his pupil, Brown entered the upper echelon of artists in England. With his newfound connections, Brown’s paintings were shown at the Royal Academy, though he ultimately decided to remove his works after a largely negative response.

This is my favourite painting by Brown, titled **Mauvais Sujet**. I find the subject of this painting to be very alluring, almost intimate – especially due to the name “Mary”, inscribed on the desk. I haven’t seen any other paintings from this period with schoolchildren as their subject, so it caught my eye; her expression is also quite interesting. Though not appearing so (to me, at least), it’s painted with watercolours.

The Irish Girl exemplifies Brown’s affinity for clear, vibrant colours. Oil on canvas; 1860.
The English Boy is a portrait of Brown’s own son, at the age of five. His portraits are particularly enticing to me, as they appear candid and greatly differ from the rest of his works.

As a big fan of Shakespeare’s play “King Lear” (which is sorely underrated), Brown’s Lear and Cordelia is especially appealing to me. This is one out of a trio of paintings dedicated to the play; it is oil on canvas. In this scene, Lear returns to his daughter Cordelia whom he previously disowned, after bearing many tribulations and realizing his mistake in banishing her. Seeing her father so exhausted and haggard opens Cordelia’s heart, and she forgives him for all he’s done to her. Here she orders the musicians to silence and allow her father to rest.