Mercy
DateBegun 1844. Retouched 1869
Artist
Ford Madox Brown
(English painter and designer, 1821–1893)
MediumCharcoal and red chalk on paper
Dimensions11 3/4 × 11 1/16 in. (29.8 × 28.1 cm)
frame: 25 × 26 × 1 in. (63.5 × 66 × 2.5 cm)
frame: 25 × 26 × 1 in. (63.5 × 66 × 2.5 cm)
Credit LineSamuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1935
Object number1935-77
On View
Not on viewClassificationsDRAWING
Label TextThis drawing is one of many studies for Madox Brown’s The Spirit of Justice, a submission in the competition for the mural decoration of the Houses of Parliament in 1845. It would have been done in black chalk initially, but was probably finished with the red highlights at a later date, including the artist’s monogram at the lower right. Although the sitter was originally thought to be Madox Brown’s wife, Emma, more recently Marie Spartali (later Stillman) has been suggested.