ford madox brown - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

Cat. no. 45 Chaucer at the Court of Edward III: Drapery Study for the Black Prince,
1848
Black chalk with touches of white; 206 x 165 mm
Insc bl: Ford M Brown London/48
Lit.: Whitley, p.36;
Diary, p. 41
Exh.: Ford Madox Brown: The
Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite (19)
Prov.: Charles Fairfax Murray
Presented by Subscribers, 1906 (1906P783)
BMAG holds two drapery studies for the Black
Prince which were executed three years
apart
(see also cat. no. 52). Brown put aside Chaucer while working on several other
pictures but took it up again in 1850. This chalk drawing is the earlier of the two studies
and it is likely that Brown is referring to it when he notes in his diary that he used a
model named ‘Maitland & made a drawing of the surcoat of black Prince.' 62
Cat. no. 46 Chaucer at the Court of Edward III: Three Studies of Hands, 1848
Black; 281 x 201 mm
Insc.
br.: Ford M Brown London/48
Lit.: Whitley, p. 33; Ford Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite, p. 65
Prov.: Charles Fairfax Murray
Presented by Subscribers, 1906 (1906P751)
The hand on the bottom left is a study for the blind figure of Milton. His disability is
symbolised by the staff he holds. Above this,
the right hand of Byron holds a scroll. On
the
right is a drawing for Burns' right hand in the same position as in the Cecil Higgins
chalk study (Fig. 77). In the Ashmolean oil sketch (Fig. 1) the thumb has moved round
to
the other side of the stick. BMAG
also holds full-length studies for these figures which
incorporate these hand studies (cat. nos.15a
and 20, and reverse of cat. no. 15).
Cat. no. 47 Chaucer at the Court of Edward III: Four Studies of
Hands, 1848
Black chalk touched with white;
305 x 312 mm
Insc. br.: Ford M Brown London 48
Lit.:
Whitley, p. 33; Ford Madox Brown: The Unofficial Pre-Raphaelite, p. 65
Prov.: Charles Fairfax
Murray
Presented
by Subscribers, 1906 (1906P750)
The top left study is for the right
hand of Lord Byron holding a scroll. In the Ashmolean
pen and ink study (Fig. 116), the hand
is in a different position with the thumb on top.
The top right study is also for Byron, who holds a shield in his other hand (the cloth
stands in for the shield). The lower left hand could be for either Burns or Shakespeare
whose hands appear in similar poses, although in cat. no. 46 and Fig. no. 116 Burns' hand
is in a different position with the index finger extended to touch the stick. The bottom
right study is for Shakespeare who holds the two masks of drama and comedy. Here his
hand is shown in the right position but without his props. An entry in Brown's diary may
62 Op. cit. at note 2, p. 41.
223