ford madox brown - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

contributing to the dialogue in galleries about the status and function of works on
paper.
The diversity of the objects included in the catalogue also throws light on the
multifaceted nature of Brown's career. Objects relating to his work for Morris,
Marshall Faulkner and Co. and those relating to the production of wood engravings
reveal that as well as painting, he was interested in producing designs for the
applied arts and illustration. The three chapters reflect the strengths of the
collection and are able to make links between the works, only suggested in the
catalogue. Perhaps because the works on paper in the Birmingham collection have
been largely neglected by scholars, the three areas discussed in the chapters have
not been the focus of any previous academic research. Chapter one uses Brown's
continental upbringing and the works he produced in Paris as the basis for an
exploration of the cross-cultural exchanges in which he participated in the 1840s. In
particular, it reveals the fluidity of his early style, and his hopes of breaking into
two art markets by focusing on the popularity of subjects from English literature in
both England and France. Consideration of cross-cultural exchange is not confined
to the first chapter, however. In fact, as a whole, the discursive section of the thesis
highlights the exchange of ideas across Europe, an aspect often forgotten in studies
of nineteenth century 'British' art. Although the focus of the second chapter shifts to
preparatory drawings produced for works to be exhibited in England, the strong
influence of the Nazarene artists, who worked in the German states and Italy, is
discussed in relation to work produced for the Westminster competitions. The last
chapter plots Brown's career as an illustrator but in doing so highlights the range of
influences affecting illustration in the second half of the nineteenth century, from
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