\qjBrown entered his cartoon 'The Spirit of Justice' into the 1845 competition to decorate the Houses of Parliament. His design is an abstract representation of Justice and depicts Justice listineing to the case of a poor a widow who has been wronged by a powerful baron. Justice sits on the top tier surrounded by the allegorical figures of Mercy and Erudition, Truth and Wisdom. Below them are the 'Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the armed servants of Justice' (Hueffer, Ford madox brown: a Record of his Lfe and Works, p. 33). This drawing has been identified as a study for the figure of Wisdom by Mary Bennett in her forthcoming catalogue raisonné. Wisdom sits on the right of Justice with his symbol, a snake, in his right hand.
LM