| Manfred on the Jungfrau | |
| Artist: | Ford Madox Brown |
| Year: | 1842 |
| Medium: | Oil on canvas |
| Height Metric: | 140.2 |
| Width Metric: | 115 |
| Metric Unit: | cm |
| Imperial Unit: | in |
| Museum: | Manchester Art Gallery |
| City: | Manchester |
Manfred on the Jungfrau is an 1842 oil-on-canvas painting by the British artist Ford Madox Brown. It is inspired by Act I Scene II of Lord Byron's dramatic poem Manfred, probably most particularly the following:
The painting depicts the central character of the poem, Manfred, who is a noble and wealthy aristocrat, about to toss himself from the heights of the Jungfrau mountain. Manfred is, however, saved from death by a chamois hunter who happens upon him, and who is seen approaching in the background of the painting, clad in fur.The detail seen on Manfred's face shows his deep psychological agony, and the reason for his desire for suicide.[1]
In 1837, John Martin painted an artwork of the same name. Martin's version was a watercolour, and focused more on the Jungfrau mountain than on the detail of Manfred and the hunter.