Daniel Maclise

Résumé du livre

The Irish-born Daniel Maclise emigrated to London and achieved great success as one of the most popular painters of the mid-Victorian period. He is a pivotal figure in any discussion of the arts and Irish nationalism. He was named by the Young Ireland movement as an exemplary Irish artist while the British government commissioned him to help celebrate British history and values in the New House of Parliament. The underlying Irish iconography in Maclise's House of Lords frescoes has gone unnoticed until now and Maclise's struggles with the gigantic murals of the Royal Gallery continued his critique of British culture. The artist's relationship with the Commission on Fine Arts confirms patterns of exploitation; he was never fully paid by the government. Although he was born into a Scots Presbyterian family, Maclise's emigration, the famine, London's racist press and the English perception that the artist was Irish all increased his sense of Irish identification. This transformation is evidenced in many of Maclise's drawings and paintings -- major examples of which are included in the volume. The book is also concerned with the artist's relationship with Charles Dickens. An unfavourable portrait of Maclise has resulted from an incritical reading of the celebrated author.