- Artist
- Ford Madox Brown 1821–1893
- Medium
- Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions
- Support: 705 × 381 mm
frame: 874 × 550 × 50 mm - Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Presented by Miss Emily Sargent and Mrs Ormond in memory of their brother, John S. Sargent 1929
- Reference
- N04429
Online caption
Although the mirror looks like the halo of a traditional portrayal of the Madonna and Child, Ford Madox Brown sets this work in a modern interior. The woman is Emma Hill, who became Brown’s wife. The viewer is in the position of the artist reflected in the mirror. The mother’s unusual expression and way of holding her child are hard to interpret: Is she feeling happiness, or pain? Brown and Hill married after they had their first child and this is their second. Brown left the work unfinished when Arthur tragically died at 10 months old.
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