Ed Lilley

Ed LilleySenior Lecturer (retired) 
BA, MPhil (London)

Email: ed.lilley@bristol.ac.uk

Ed Lilley studied as an undergraduate at the Courtauld Institute of Art in the University of London and remained there as a postgraduate, writing a thesis on The Iconography of Napoleon. He joined the History of Art Department at Bristol in 1977 and has since pursued research in various aspects of French culture in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Ed's published work has particularly concentrated on the intersections of visual and verbal culture in France. It comprises a number of studies of art criticism but also includes articles discussing poetry about art, as well as a study of the titles of paintings. A current research focus is on the role of caricatures and humorous prints as indicators of a society's taste for art.

Research interests

In general terms, French painting of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and French art criticism of the same period. Ed Lilley would particularly welcome research proposals that link image and text, whether through a consideration of art criticism or by other means. He would also welcome investigations that seek to situate art as an active agent in the historical process.

Publications