Cromwell on his Farm by Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893)

Oil on canvas 143 x 104.3cm

Accession Number LL3641

In this lively painting Oliver Cromwell, the future Lord Protector of England, is shown as a Huntingdonshire farmer, before his rise to power during the English Civil War. His old, pale horse comes to a halt on the lanes of Huntingdon near his home. The local church can be seen in the background across the River Ouse, and Cromwell's wife and child observe him from the terrace of his house.

Cromwell and his horse occupy the calm centre of the painting. Although everyday life goes on around them - animals browse, pigs escape, and the maid shouts to him while holding a squawking duck - Cromwell stares prophetically into the future, his place held in his Book of Common Prayer. There is lots of symbolism to ponder in this painting: the oak sapling in Cromwell's hand, in place of his forgotten whip, represents his physical or moral strength and future power. The bonfire represents divine wrath against Royalist England.

Cromwell was one of the great leaders, hero-worshipped by Thomas Carlyle, whose writings deeply influenced Ford Madox Brown and inspired this painting; both author and artists profoundly admired Cromwell's political and religious radicalism.

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