Which Medievalism? The Case of Ford Madox Brown

Close to the Pre-Raphaelites but never a member of the Brotherhood, Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893) remained faithful to their “medieval ideal for a much longer period than any of the actual Brothers. His long career allowed him to change styles several times, and also to modify his approach of medievalism. Brown was involved in the debate right from 1844, when he took part in the competition for the decoration of the new Houses of Parliament. Gothic subjects were favoured, but “Gothic quaintness” was not yet quite as fashionable. Brown’s first works combining a medieval subject with a neo-medieval style were Wycliffe Reading his Translation of the Bible and Chaucer reading the Legend of Custance to Edward III. However, he later decided that, in order to be faithful to medieval spirit, it was preferable to treat modern subjects, as the superiority of medieval art was then judged to be moral, rather than aesthetical. Brown was also involved in the collective creation of pseudo-medieval furniture and decorative objects. King René’s Honeymoon Cabinet aimed at reviving a time when labour and art were believed to be in harmony thanks to the influence of the Church. During his last creative decades, Brown painted various medieval subjects for the city of Manchester, in a curvilinear, almost Art-Nouveau style. Brown thus went from a patriotic valuation of feudal Britain to a totally free interpretation of the Middle Ages, through a more social appreciation of medieval art. This combination of nationalism and Aestheticism shows how medieval beauty could be an infinite source of inspiration for Victorian artists.