The Medieval Inspirations of Daniel Maclise

Daniel Maclise (1806-1870) was born in Cork, training there as an artist before moving permanently to London at age 22. Like the artists of the late-nineteenth century Pre-Raphaelite movement, Maclise was drawn to medieval subjects. A number of his paintings and drawings are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Ireland, including a sketchbook that illuminates Maclise’s creative process, containing his drawings pasted onto paper.

The drawings are simple lines depicting figures in medieval dress, in pencil on paper or card. The inscription on the cover, ‘163 drawings’, suggests that this number of drawings were once preserved. Each drawing is numbered in pencil, but only 40 drawings in total remain today. The series was created at an earlier date and likely compiled as one item for sale following Maclise’s death in April 1870. Notes inscribed in ink on the cover state that the sketchbook was ‘purchased at Christie’s sale June 24th, 1870’ and presented to William Brooke Esq. on the 5th of November 1870.

The series reveals Maclise's interest in costume. Drawing '163' depicts a man with a feathered hat, the artist detailing the shape and design of the figure’s shoe and his clothing. ‘Comte de Nevers’ and ‘1440’ are written on the drawing in Maclise’s hand. Another drawing is identified as ‘Margueritte de Bourbon’, with notes detailing the colour of her costume as 'red' and 'blue'. Why might Maclise have written these notes?

The answer lies in a book held in the collections of the nearby National Library of Ireland. Costumes Civils et Militaires de la Monarchie Françse depuis 1200 jusqu'a 1820, Tom. 1 is a book of lithographs, printed in 1820 by François-Seraphin Delpech. Delpech (1778-1825) ran the most popular lithographic print shop in Paris at the beginning of the 19th century. Attire of Civilians and the Military of the French Monarchy from 1200 to 1820, Volume I contains over a hundred lithographs attributed to the draughtsman Hippolyte Lecomte – evidenced by the large ‘H te L’ clearly visible in the corner of every print – depicting bright and colourful courtly costumes. The names, dates, and details in Maclise’s drawings correspond directly to this book.

Each drawing in Maclise’s sketchbook mirrors a lithograph of Attire of Civilians and the Military of the French Monarchy from 1200 to 1820, Volume I. The artist would sketch poses and costumes that appealed to him quickly, using simple lines and inscriptions that refer back to the original print. These notes likely aided the development of larger pieces, where specific costumes or poses might have been used, or when reference to a particular time or historical figure was desired. The use of blank or simplified features allowed the artist to refer quickly to details in the original prints, without limiting his creativity.

The numbered drawings preserved in the sketchbook suggest that further examples likely existed and are now either lost or destroyed. Though no drawing resembling Diane de Poitiers (No. 113) from Attire of Civilians is present in the sketchbook, it might be proposed that Maclise used this print for inspiration, and any reference drawing is now lost. Maclise’s oil painting François I and Diane de Poitiers, painted in 1835, provides evidence for this claim. No. 113 in Attire shares the name and the costume of Maclise’s figure in the 1835 painting. The artist has improved upon her finery in his painting, embellishing the dress and its jewels, but keeping the essential shape and colours of his source. Maclise likely drew on costumes, poses, and figures from these lithographs to fill paintings like Merry Christmas in the Baron’s Hall (1938), where his Lord of Misrule is perhaps influenced by No. 182, Charles de Gondy, in Attire.

The similarity between these pieces would suggest that Maclise was copying from the Attire lithographs early in his career, and indicates that his undated series of ‘163 drawings’ may have been created as early as the 1830s. It is possible that he first saw the lithographs in Cork during his initial studies, as he knew prominent collectors of works on paper like William Penrose. It is equally plausible that the artist first viewed a copy of the book of lithographs in London or in Paris, where it would have been widely circulated. Maclise’s sketches reveal a fascinating aspect of his creative process, offering the viewer insights into the link between published prints and finished paintings.

Casey, Benjamin. ‘“Merry Christmas in the Baron’s Hall” - How an Irish Artist Painted an English Christmas | Maynooth University’, 2024. National University of Ireland. Maynooth. https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/research/spotlight-research/merry-christmas-baron-s-hall-how-irish-artist-painted-english-christmas.

Lecomte, Hippolyte. Costumes Civils et Militaires de la Monarchie Françse depuis 1200 jusqu'a 1820, Tom. 1. Paris: Delpech, 1820.

Murray, Peter. Daniel Maclise, 1806-1870: Romancing the Past. Published by Crawford Art Gallery and Gandon Editions to coincide with the exhibition of the same name, 23rd October 2008 - 15th February 2009 at Crawford Art Gallery, Cork.

Princeton. ‘The Print Shop of F. Delpech - Graphic Arts’, 2024. The Print Shop of F. Delpech - Graphic Arts 

Turpin, John. ‘Ireland Illustrated, 1680-1860’. Ireland Illustrated, May 9, 2018

Kathleen Hirsch, Trinity College Dublin, M.Phil. in the History of Art and Architecture, 2024