Fitzwilliam Museum Visit: Research

The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

To further the research for my final design choices, I visited the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
 as they have a fine selection of Pre-raphealite peices that I wish to reference within my study.
The key painting in the collection with regards to this is 'The Last of England' (1860), by Ford Maddox Brown:

Ford Maddox Brown, The Last of England (1860)

Art Historian Carola Hicks describes that this image, 'suggest's van Eyck's influence more obliquely. Brown set [the image] in a circular wooden frame resembling the mirror, while the subtly distorted perspective of the painting gives the impression that the whole scene is being reflected in a convex lens. The central characters are a couple. . .and they are holding hands; this motif is reinforced a second time by the woman's other hand, which clasps that of a baby otherwise concealed in the folds of her cloak. The painting is an image of marriage as much as that of imigration' [1]. I really like how the influence of such a different painting as the Arnolfini Portrait upon this one has enabled Brown to take his key ideas and symbols from the original to create his own painting that doesn't at all resemble van Eyck's until further research is made. What I find interesting about this is what parts of the original images, visual or symbolic, have been highlighted as most important and influencial.
For instance:

• It is a couple in love.
• There is the implication of a child/pregnancy (however not for certain)
• Symbolism is a very important part of the image.
• The colour palette is an extension of the symbolism.

[1] Hicks, C (2011). Girl in a Green Gown, The History and Mystery of the Arnolfini Portrait. London: Chatto & Windus. pg,175