The Art of Ford Madox Brown

A comprehensive history devoted to the art of Ford Madox Brown (1821-93), in which his paintings establish him as a major figure in the most important new art movement of Victorian England, Pre-Raphaelitism. The book presents an explanation of the development and basic aims of Pre-Raphaelite art as a whole and offers a revealing discussion of the power and importance of the humorous vein and negative spirit that run throughout Brown's work. It also ties Brown's realist approach to British decorative taste at mid-century and redefines his place in the Aesthetic Movement, a cultural trend that dominated the latter half of the 19th-century. In addition, the artist's socialist leanings and nationalistic tendencies, expressed in depictions of workers, children, women and religious scenes, are set out more fully than in any previous literature on the artist. Bendiner offers various interpretations of Brown's paintings. He connects many of his works to developments in the literature and politics of the time and also explores his role in the Aesthetic Movement and links his social inclinations, plebeian decorative designs, and humorous aesthetic paintings to the overall scheme of his art.