ford madox brown - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

Chaucer (Fig. 117). His last preparation was to draw a full size cartoon (for smaller
works) or a smaller version which he transferred to the canvas. He used the roundel
representing the Catholic Faith (cat. no. 173) in Wycliffe as a cartoon. It has been
squared up for transfer onto the canvas. Likewise he produced cartoons for figures in
Work (Fig. 4) which he cut out to place on the canvas drawing in pencil one side and
red chalk on the other to aid the transfer of the design. 187 Brown undertook a
significant amount of drawing in pencil or chalk on the canvas before beginning to
paint. 188 His pencil lines can be seen under ultra-violet light as in Jesus washing
Peter's Feet or in the case of Chaucer where the lines are visible through the paint. 189
From here Brown would begin to work in oil on the canvas but this line of discussion
is beyond the scope of this thesis and would lead away from drawing to painting
techniques explored in some depth in Pre-Raphaelite Painting Techniques. 190
Conclusion
This chapter has discussed paintings of English history executed by Brown between
1843 and 1878. It has argued that his view of history was shaped by the rise of the
picturesque mode of historiography. This favoured a people-based exploration of
history, focusing on the lives and biographical details of those in the past rather than
great battles and events. Using the Birmingham collection it has been possible to
show that this mode influenced all aspects of the construction of his history paintings,
187 One of these still exists and is held at Manchester Ciy Art Gallery (1978.91).
188 He mentions drawing figures in chalk onto the canvas a number of times in his diary. Good
examples of entries relating to this aspect of his working process are 18 and 21 November 1847 (Op.
cit. at note 66, pp. 15-16).
189 See Joyce Townsend, Jacqueline Ridge and Stephen Hackney, Pre-Raphaelite Painting Techniques,
London, 2004, p. 145. According to the Stewart Laidler, Senior Paintings Conservator at the Art
Gallery of New South Wales this may have been a deliberate device. The pencil lines are most
pronounced where they form the fountain and battlements and these may have been left to create a
firmer outline for the architecture (in conversation with the author 9.11.06).
190 Ibid.
137