The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (74 page)

(1503–72).
Florentine
Mannerist
painter, the pupil and adopted son of
Pontormo
, who introduced his portrait as a child into his painting
Joseph in Egypt
(NG, London). The origin of his nickname is uncertain, but possibly derived from his having a dark complexion. Bronzino was deeply attached to Pontormo and his style was heavily indebted to his master (in paintings of
c.
1530 it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the hand of one from the other). However, Bronzino lacked the emotional intensity that was such a characteristic of Pontormo's work, his colouring and brushwork were typically harder, and he excelled as a portraitist rather than a religious painter. He was court painter to Duke Cosimo I
de Medici
for most of his career, and his work influenced the course of European court portraiture for a century. Cold, cultured, and unemotionally analytical, his portraits convey a sense of almost insolent assurance. Bronzino was also a poet, and his most personal portraits are perhaps those of other literary figures (
Laura Battiferri
, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence,
c.
1560). He was less successful as a religious painter, his lack of real feeling leading to empty, elegant posturing, as in
The Martyrdom of S. Lorenzo
(S. Lorenzo, Florence, 1569), in which almost every one of the extraordinarily contorted poses can be traced back to
Raphael
or to
Michelangelo
, whom Bronzino idolized. It is the type of work that got Mannerism a bad name. Bronzino's skill with the nude was better deployed in the celebrated
Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time
(NG, London), which conveys strong feelings of eroticism under the pretext of a moralizing allegory (one of the subsidiary figures has recently been interpreted as representing the effects of syphilis). His other major works include the design of a series of tapestries on
The Story of Joseph
for the Palazzo Vecchio. He was a much respected figure who took a prominent part in the activities of the Accademia del Disegno (see
ACADEMY
), of which he was a founder member in 1563. His pupils included Alessandro
Allori
, who—in a curious mirroring of his own early career—was also his adopted son.

 
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(1723?–59).
English marine painter. Very little is known of his short career, but he was the finest British marine painter of his day, equally adept at calm or rough seas. He is said to have been employed at Deptford dockyard and he had an intimate knowledge of the ships he painted.

 
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Brotherhood of Ruralists
.

See
BLAKE , PETER
.

 
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(1605/6–38).
Flemish painter who spent a great part of his short working life at Haarlem in Holland. He went to Haarlem in about 1623 and was probably a pupil of Frans
Hals
. In 1631 he left Holland for Antwerp (where he was for a while detained by the Spaniards as a suspected spy) and evidently spent the rest of his career there. He perhaps died from the plague that swept the city in 1638. Brouwer was an important link between the Dutch and Flemish schools and played a major role in popularizing low life
genre
scenes in both countries in which he worked. Early sources depict him as a colourful bohemian character and his most typical works represent peasants brawling and drinking. Although the subject-matter is humorously coarse, his technique is delicate and sparkling. The virtuosity of brushwork and economy of expression are perhaps surpassed in his landscapes, which are among the greatest of his age.
Rembrandt
and
Rubens
were among the admirers and collectors of Brouwer's paintings (Rubens at one time owned seventeen), and Adriaen van
Ostade
and David
Teniers
the Younger were among his many followers.

 
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(1821–93).
English painter. He was born at Calais and trained in Antwerp (under
Wappers
), in Paris, and in Rome, where he came into contact with the
Nazarenes
. Settling in England in 1846, he became a friend of the
Pre-Raphaelites
and—with his taste for literary subjects and meticulous handling—an influence on their work, though he was never a member of the Brotherhood.
Rossetti
studied briefly with him in 1848 and Brown's
Chaucer at the Court of Edward III
(Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1851) contains portraits of several of the Brotherhood. His best-known picture,
The Last of England
(City Art Gallery, Birmingham, 1855), was inspired by the departure of
Woolner
, the Pre-Raphaelite sculptor, for Australia. The other famous anthology piece that Brown painted,
Work
(Manchester City Art Gallery, 1852–63), shows his dedicated craftsmanship and brilliant colouring, but is somewhat swamped by its social idealism. In 1861 Brown was a founder member of William
Morris's
company, for which he designed
stained glass
and furniture. The major work of the later part of his career is a cycle of paintings (1878–93) in Manchester Town Hall on the history of the city. Brown was an individualist and a man of prickly temperament; he opposed the
Royal Academy
and was a pioneer of the one-man show.

 
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