Mannerist on a Mission

Glenn Brown is known for his unsettling, lush paintings of figures drawn from art history. Certainly, a fidelity to the past is evident in the sensitive restoration he and his husband, Edgar Laguinia, have overseen in their ten-bedroom, art-filled manor house of 1679 – the delft-tiled fireplace, Georgian colours and camelback sofas attest to that. But, asks Amy Sherlock, do the couple make any concessions to the contemporary? Photography: Simon Watson