Hogarth's Works, With Life And Anecdotal Descriptions Of His Pictures. - free ebook by John Ireland

Read as playlist

Hogarth's Works, With Life And Anecdotal Descriptions Of His Pictures.

John Ireland

118 chapters

14 hour read

Read as playlist

Selected Chapters

118 chapters

HOGARTH'S WORKS: WITH LIFE AND ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS PICTURES. —◆— FIRST SERIES.

HOGARTH'S WORKS: WITH LIFE AND ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS PICTURES. —◆— FIRST SERIES.

HOGARTH'S WORKS: WITH LIFE AND ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS PICTURES . BY JOHN IRELAND and JOHN NICHOLS, F.S.A. THE WHOLE OF THE PLATES REDUCED IN EXACT FAC-SIMILE OF THE ORIGINALS. First Series. London CHATTO AND WINDUS, PUBLISHERS. ( SUCCESSORS TO JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN. ) London CHATTO AND WINDUS, PUBLISHERS. ( SUCCESSORS TO JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN. )...

31 minute read

Read Chapter

PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION.

PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION.

It is a singular fact, that, notwithstanding the enormous popularity enjoyed by Hogarth in the minds of English people, no perfectly popular edition has been hitherto brought before the public. Were a foreigner to ask an ordinary Briton who was the most thoroughly national painter in the roll of English artists, the answer would be undoubtedly William Hogarth; but the chances are that our countryman would not have at command a tangible proof that his statement was correct. Such editions as have

3 minute read

Read Chapter

INTRODUCTION.

INTRODUCTION.

Mr. Hogarth frequently asserted that no man was so ill qualified to form a true judgment of pictures as the professed connoisseur; whose taste being originally formed upon imitations, and confined to the manners of Masters, had seldom any reference to Nature. Under this conviction, his subjects were selected for the crowd rather than the critic; [1] and explained in that universal language common to the world, rather than in the lingua technica of the arts, which is sacred to the scientific. Wit

1 minute read

Read Chapter

ANECDOTES OF AN ARTIST.

ANECDOTES OF AN ARTIST.

"By heaven, and not a master, taught." Shall I be permitted to adopt this remark, and, without any diminution of the Italian's well-earned fame, assert that the eulogy is equally appropriate to the Englishman whose name is at the head of this chapter; for he was not the follower, but the leader of a class, and became a painter from divine impulse rather than human instruction. The biographers who have written of artists, especially if the hero of their history was of the Dutch school, generally

24 minute read

Read Chapter

THE BATTLE OF THE PICTURES.

THE BATTLE OF THE PICTURES.

"In curious paintings I'm exceeding nice, And know their several beauties by their price; Auctions and sales I constantly attend, But choose my pictures by a skilful friend. Originals and copies, much the same; The picture's value is the painter's name." In one corner of this very ludicrous print he has represented an auction-room, on the top of which is a weathercock, in allusion perhaps to Cock the auctioneer. Instead of the four initials for North, East, West, and South, we have P, U, F, S, w

10 minute read

Read Chapter

ANALYSIS OF BEAUTY.

ANALYSIS OF BEAUTY.

"So vary'd he, and of his tortuous train Curl'd many a wanton wreath in sight of Eve, To lure her eye." —Milton. If the figures which compose this plate are considered independent of the volume, they will appear sufficiently incongruous. He has given us curves and curvatures, straight lines and angles, circles and squares. He has ransacked the garden for examples, and drawn from the shops of the blacksmith, founder, and cabinetmaker, illustrations of his doctrine. To the beauteous and elegant Gr

10 minute read

Read Chapter

SIGISMUNDA.

SIGISMUNDA.

"Let the picture rust; Perhaps Time's price-enhancing dust, As statues moulder into earth, When I'm no more, may mark its worth; And future connoisseurs may rise, Honest as ours, and full as wise, To puff the piece, and painter too, And make me then what Guido's now ." — Hogarth's Epistle. A competition with either Guido or Furino would to any modern painter be an enterprise of danger : to Hogarth it was more peculiarly so, from the public justly conceiving that the representation of elevated di

3 minute read

Read Chapter

TIME SMOKING A PICTURE.

TIME SMOKING A PICTURE.

"To nature and yourself appeal, Nor learn of others what to feel."— Anon. This animated satire was etched as a receipt-ticket for a print of Sigismunda. It represents Time , seated upon a mutilated statue, and smoking a landscape, through which he has driven his scythe, to give proof of its antiquity,—not only by sober, sombre tints, but by an injured canvas. Beneath the easel on which it is fixed the artist has placed a capacious jar, on which is written VARNISH ,—to bring out the beauties of t

17 minute read

Read Chapter

THE HARLOT'S PROGRESS.

THE HARLOT'S PROGRESS.

"The snares are set, the plot is laid, Ruin awaits thee, hapless maid! Seduction sly assails thine ear, And gloating, foul desire is near; Baneful and blighting are their smiles, Destruction waits upon their wiles: Alas! thy guardian angel sleeps, Vice clasps her hands, and virtue weeps."—E. The general aim of historical painters has been to emblazon some signal exploit of an exalted and distinguished character. To go through a series of actions, and conduct their hero from the cradle to the gra

19 minute read

Read Chapter

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS.

THE RAKE'S PROGRESS.

"Oh, vanity of age untoward! Ever spleeny, ever froward! Why these bolts and massy chains, Squint suspicions, jealous pains? Why, thy toilsome journey o'er, Lay'st thou up an useless store? Hope along with Time is flown; Nor canst thou reap the field thou'st sown. Had'st thou a son? In time be wise; He views thy toil with other eyes. Needs must thy kind paternal care, Lock'd in thy chests, be buried there? Whence, then, shall flow that friendly ease, That social converse, heartfelt peace, Famili

36 minute read

Read Chapter

SOUTHWARK FAIR.

SOUTHWARK FAIR.

"The crowded scene will please us then, And the busy hum of men; The Thespian throng, and champions bold, Their jubilee of triumph hold: With store of wenches, whose bright eyes Rain influence, and judge the prize Of hat or shirt,—while all contend To catch her glance whom all commend. Come, Sport, that wrinkled Care derides; And Laughter, holding both his sides; And puppet-show, and quaint device, And Troy in flames, and rattling dice: And Comedy, with wreathed smiles; And Music, that dull care

16 minute read

Read Chapter

A MIDNIGHT MODERN CONVERSATION.

A MIDNIGHT MODERN CONVERSATION.

"Think not to find one meant resemblance there; We lash the vices, but the persons spare. Prints should be priz'd, as authors should be read, Who sharply smile prevailing Folly dead. So Rabelais laught, and so Cervantes thought; So Nature dictated what Art has taught." Notwithstanding this inscription, which was engraved on the plate some time after its publication, it is very certain that most of these figures were intended for individual portraits; but Mr. Hogarth, not wishing to be considered

7 minute read

Read Chapter

THE SLEEPING CONGREGATION.

THE SLEEPING CONGREGATION.

"Beneath this antique roof, this hallow'd shade, Where wearied rustics holy Sabbath keep, Compos'd as if on downy pillows laid, The sons and daughters of the hamlet sleep." The shepherd is not much more awake than his sleeping flock, whose appearance convinces us that, though there is no organ, there is much melody. The nasal music of the congregation, joined to the languid monotony of the preacher, [120] which sounds like the drowsy hum of a drone bee, must form such a concert as neither Tubal

6 minute read

Read Chapter

THE DISTRESSED POET.

THE DISTRESSED POET.

"Furnish'd with paper, pen, and ink, He gravely sat him down—to think: He bit his nails, and scratch'd his head, But wit and fancy both were dead: Or, if with more than usual pain, A thought came slowly from his brain, It cost him Lord knows how much time To shape it into sense or rhyme; And what was yet a greater curse, Long thinking made his fancy worse." Such is the fate of many a miserable scribbler who usurps the sacred name of a poet. Parnassus must be peopled, and the fashionable versifie

4 minute read

Read Chapter

THE ENRAGED MUSICIAN.

THE ENRAGED MUSICIAN.

"With thundering noise the azure vault they tear, And rend, with savage roar, the echoing air: The sounds terrific he with horror hears; His fiddle throws aside,—and stops his ears."—E. The last plate displayed the distress of a poet; in this the artist has exhibited the rage of a musician. Our poor bard bore his misfortunes with patience, and, rich in his Muse, did not much repine at his poverty. Not so this master of harmony—of heavenly harmony! To the evils of poverty he is now a stranger; hi

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FOUR TIMES OF THE DAY.

THE FOUR TIMES OF THE DAY.

In the "Progress of an Harlot," and the "Adventures of a Rake," Mr. Hogarth displayed his powers of painting history. Holding the mirror up to Nature, he shows "Virtue her own feature, Vice her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure." Had he exhibited no other specimen of his art, these fourteen prints would have given him a right to the title of a moral painter; and thus was he denominated by the late Mr. Fielding, in his Adventures of Joseph Andrews . In the ser

22 minute read

Read Chapter

STROLLING PLAYERS.

STROLLING PLAYERS.

As the Act prohibiting performance of any play or interlude which was not sanctioned by the Lord Chamberlain passed about the time that this print was published, and is particularly referred to in the engraving, a short view of the English drama, and the circumstances which occasioned the Bill's being brought into the House of Commons, seems immediately connected with the subject. Our first theatrical exhibitions had a religious tendency; [144] they were under the direction of the clergy, repr

4 minute read

Read Chapter

STROLLING ACTRESSES DRESSING IN A BARN.

STROLLING ACTRESSES DRESSING IN A BARN.

"Since Thespis, mighty father of the art, Declaim'd, and rav'd, and ranted in a cart, His wandering offspring, to their parent true, Have kept their great original in view: Patents they scorn, as modern innovation, And here have humbly made a barn their station: A barn!—in which though time has made a breach, They cleave the general air with horrid speech. "The wearied rustic now the flail suspends, And the drum's thunder all the region rends; Where erst the reapers sung their Harvest Home, The

12 minute read

Read Chapter

MR. GARRICK IN THE CHARACTER OF RICHARD III.

MR. GARRICK IN THE CHARACTER OF RICHARD III.

"Give me another horse,—bind up my wounds,— Have mercy, Jesu!—Soft; I did but dream.— O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!— The lights burn blue!—Is it not dead midnight? Cold, fearful drops hang on my trembling flesh." Such is the exclamation of Richard, and such is the disposition of his mind at the moment of this delineation. In character and expression of countenance the artist has succeeded, but in resemblance—he has failed. The features have no likeness to the features of Mr. Gar

10 minute read

Read Chapter

INDUSTRY AND IDLENESS.

INDUSTRY AND IDLENESS.

The following description of Mr. Hogarth's design in these twelve plates is copied from his own handwriting:— "Industry and Idleness exemplified in the conduct of two fellow-'prentices; where the one by taking good courses, and pursuing points for which he was put apprentice, becomes a valuable man, and an ornament to his country; the other, by giving way to idleness, naturally falls into poverty, and ends fatally, as is expressed in the last print. As the prints were intended more for use tha

25 minute read

Read Chapter

ROAST BEEF AT THE GATE OF CALAIS.

ROAST BEEF AT THE GATE OF CALAIS.

"O the roast beef of Old England," etc. The thought on which this whimsical and highly characteristic print is founded, originated in Calais, to which place Mr. Hogarth, accompanied by some of his friends, made an excursion in the year 1747. Extreme partiality for his native country was the leading trait of his character; he seems to have begun his three hours' voyage with a firm determination to be displeased at everything he saw out of Old England. For a meagre powdered figure, hung with tatte

8 minute read

Read Chapter

THE COUNTRY INN YARD, OR THE STAGE-COACH.

THE COUNTRY INN YARD, OR THE STAGE-COACH.

"The poet's adage, 'All the world's a stage,' Has stood the test of each revolving age; Another simile perhaps will bear, 'Tis a Stage-coach , where all must pay the fare; Where each his entrance and his exit makes, And o'er life's rugged road his journey takes. Some unprotected must their tour perform, 'And bide the pelting of the pitiless storm:' While others, free from elemental jars, By fortune favour'd, and propitious stars, Secure from storms, enjoy their little hour, Despise the whirlwind

3 minute read

Read Chapter

HOGARTH'S WORKS: WITH LIFE AND ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS PICTURES. —◆— SECOND SERIES.

HOGARTH'S WORKS: WITH LIFE AND ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS PICTURES. —◆— SECOND SERIES.

HOGARTH'S WORKS: WITH LIFE AND ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS PICTURES . BY JOHN IRELAND and JOHN NICHOLS, F.S.A. THE WHOLE OF THE PLATES REDUCED IN EXACT FAC-SIMILE OF THE ORIGINALS. Second Series. London: CHATTO AND WINDUS, PUBLISHERS. ( SUCCESSORS TO JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN. ) London: CHATTO AND WINDUS, PUBLISHERS. ( SUCCESSORS TO JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN. )...

31 minute read

Read Chapter

MARRIAGE A LA MODE.

MARRIAGE A LA MODE.

"'Tis from high life our characters are drawn." In his preceding prints Mr. Hogarth generally pointed his satire at persons in a subordinate situation, and took his examples from the inferior ranks of society. From the situation of his characters, and the minute precision with which he displayed the scenes he professed to delineate, we sometimes see little violations of that decorum which is perhaps necessary in engravings professedly designed for furniture. For this neglect of delicacy some of

45 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FOUR STAGES OF CRUELTY.

THE FOUR STAGES OF CRUELTY.

"The poorest beetle that we tread upon, In corporal sufferance feels a pang as great As when a giant dies." This pathetic lesson of humanity is given by the poet of nature. Aiming at the same end by different means, our benevolent artist here steps forth as the instructor of youth, the friend to mercy, and advocate of the brute creation. In the prints before us, an obdurate boy begins his career of cruelty by tormenting animals; repeated acts of barbarity sear his heart, he commits a deliberate

12 minute read

Read Chapter

BEER STREET AND GIN LANE.

BEER STREET AND GIN LANE.

"The nature and use of aliments maketh men either chaste or incontinent; either courageous or cowardly; either meek or quarrelsome: let those who deny these truths come to me; let them follow my counsel in eating and drinking, and I promise them they will find great helps thereupon towards moral philosophy. They will acquire more prudence, more diligence, more memory."— Galen. Fully impressed with the truth of this axiom, Mr. Hogarth engraved the two following prints, in which he has considered

7 minute read

Read Chapter

PAUL BEFORE FELIX.

PAUL BEFORE FELIX.

Designed and etched in the ridiculous manner of Rembrandt, by William Hogarth. Published according to the Act of Parliament, May 1, 1751. "Each hero is a pillar of darkness, and the sword a beam of fire." [47] — Fingal , Book I. p. 21. For the etchings of Rembrandt, and a herd of servile imitators who, without any of his genius, copied his defects, Hogarth had the most sovereign contempt. He considered their productions as unmeaning scratches, as dingy and violent combinations of light and darkn

6 minute read

Read Chapter

MOSES BEFORE PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER.

MOSES BEFORE PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER.

"And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses."— Exodus ii. 10. Among the many benevolent institutions which do honour to this nation, the hospital for maintaining exposed and deserted infants may be ranked as one of the most humane and political. Let the austere enthusiast censure it as an encouragement to vice, and the rigid moralist declaim against giving sanction to profligacy, it is still an useful and a benevolent fou

2 minute read

Read Chapter

FOUR PRINTS OF AN ELECTION.

FOUR PRINTS OF AN ELECTION.

I think it is Voltaire who observes that the English nation are mad every seven years: he might have added that there are local fits which seize some parts of the country at other times; but this madness, like the fermentation of liquors, proves the spirit of the people. In the following series of prints Mr. Hogarth has delineated the progress of this malady, in four of its most remarkable stages, with that broad and characteristic humour peculiar to himself. He has presented us with the mirror

27 minute read

Read Chapter

THE MARCH TO FINCHLEY.

THE MARCH TO FINCHLEY.

"Now I behold the chiefs in the pride of their former deeds; their souls are kindled at the battles of old, and the actions of other times. Their eyes are like flames of fire, and roll in search of the foes of the land. Their mighty hands are on their swords, and lightning pours from their sides of steel. They came like streams from the mountains; each rushed roaring from his hill. Bright are the chiefs of battle in the arms of their fathers." [88] — Fingal , Book I. p. 7. That so admirable a re

16 minute read

Read Chapter

THE INVASION; OR, FRANCE AND ENGLAND.

THE INVASION; OR, FRANCE AND ENGLAND.

In the two following designs Mr. Hogarth has displayed that partiality for his own country, and contempt for France, which formed a strong trait in his character. He neither forgot nor forgave the insults he suffered at Calais, though he did not recollect that this treatment originated in his own ill-humour, which threw a sombre shade over every object that presented itself. Having early imbibed the vulgar prejudice that one Englishman was a match for four Frenchmen, [96] he thought it would be

7 minute read

Read Chapter

THE COCKPIT.

THE COCKPIT.

"It is worth your while to come to England, were it only to see an election and a cock-match. There is a celestial spirit of anarchy and confusion in these two scenes that words cannot paint, and of which no countryman of yours can form even an idea."— Sherlock's Letters to a friend at Paris. Mr. Sherlock is perfectly right in his assertion, that neither of these scenes can be described by words; but where the writer must have failed, the artist has succeeded, and the Parisian who has never visi

11 minute read

Read Chapter

CREDULITY, SUPERSTITION, AND FANATICISM.

CREDULITY, SUPERSTITION, AND FANATICISM.

A MEDLEY. "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world."—1 John IV. 1. Whoever reads history with a view of tracing the progress of the human mind,—which, by the way, is the great object that renders history useful,—whoever reads history with that regard, must be astonished and shocked at the slow progress of philosophy, and the universal prevalence of credulity, superstition, and fanaticism. If antiquity would gi

12 minute read

Read Chapter

THE TIMES.

THE TIMES.

"The gods of old were logs of wood, And worship was to puppets paid: In antic dress the puppet stood, And priests and people bow'd the head." There are three things of which your Englishman deems himself the best of all possible judges: the art of stirring a fire, religion, and politics. His infallibility in the first no one will presume to question, except his wife; and with her he will dispute as long as disputing is good. The mysteries of the second he understands better than the Archbishop o

36 minute read

Read Chapter

JOHN WILKES, Esq.

JOHN WILKES, Esq.

Drawn from the Life, and etched in aquafortis, by William Hogarth. Published according to Act of Parliament, May 16, 1763. "Enough of Patriots,—all I ask of man Is only to be honest as he can. Some have deceiv'd, and some may still deceive, 'Tis the fool's curse at random to believe. Would those who, by opinion plac'd on high, Stand fair and perfect in their country's eye, Maintain that honour,—let me in their ear Hint this essential doctrine— PERSEVERE ." — Churchill. The bitter satire upon Hog

7 minute read

Read Chapter

THE BRUISER, CHARLES CHURCHILL (ONCE THE REVEREND),

THE BRUISER, CHARLES CHURCHILL (ONCE THE REVEREND),

In the Character of a Russian Hercules, regaling himself after having killed the Monster Caricatura, that so sorely galled his virtuous friend, the heaven-born Wilkes.—Published Aug. 1, 1763. "But he had a club, This dragon to drub, Or he had ne'er don't, I warrant ye." — Dragon of Wantley. Enraged by the publication of Mr. Wilkes' portrait, Mr. Charles Churchill drew his gray goose quill, and wrote a most virulent and vindictive satire, which he entitled An Epistle to William Hogarth . The pain

18 minute read

Read Chapter

BOYS PEEPING AT NATURE. [171]

BOYS PEEPING AT NATURE. [171]

"Thou, Nature, art my goddess." This plate was engraved in 1733, and intended as the subscription-ticket to "The Harlot's Progress;" but in the original design Nature was habited in a petticoat, and the boy who now points to a three-quarters portrait was placed before her, and represented as curiously stooping down to examine the fringe. Some of the artist's friends, suggesting that this was too ludicrous an idea for the public, the copper was thrown aside. In the year 1751, Hogarth etched his b

1 minute read

Read Chapter

FIVE GROUPS OF HEADS.

FIVE GROUPS OF HEADS.

"Let him laugh now, who never laugh'd before; And he who always laugh'd, laugh now the more." From the first print that Hogarth engraved to the last that he published, I do not think there is one in which character is more displayed than in this very spirited little etching. It is much superior to the more delicate engravings from his designs by other artists, and I prefer it to those that were still higher finished by his own burin. The prim coxcomb with an enormous bag, whose favours, like tho

16 minute read

Read Chapter

SARAH MALCOLM.

SARAH MALCOLM.

Executed opposite Mitre Court, Fleet Street, on the 7th of March 1733, for the murder of Mrs. Lydia Duncombe, Elizabeth Harrison, and Anne Price. "How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none?" The portrait of this sanguinary wretch Mr. Hogarth painted in Newgate; and to Sir James Thornhill, who accompanied him, he made the following observation: "I see by this woman's features that she is capable of any wickedness." Of his skill in physiognomy I entertain a very high opinion; but as Sarah sat

6 minute read

Read Chapter

COLUMBUS BREAKING THE EGG.

COLUMBUS BREAKING THE EGG.

"Why on these shores are we with pride survey'd, Admir'd as heroes, and as gods obey'd! Unless great acts superior merit prove, And vindicate the bounteous powers above; That when, with wond'ring eyes, our martial bands Behold our deeds transcending our commands, Such, they may cry, deserve the sov'reign state, Whom those that envy dare not imitate?" Such is the animated apostrophe of Sarpedon in the energetic numbers of Alexander Pope, and it is not more appropriate to Glaucus than to the illus

6 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FIVE ORDERS OF PERIWIGS.

THE FIVE ORDERS OF PERIWIGS.

AS THEY WERE WORN AT THE LATE CORONATION, MEASURED ARCHITECTONICALLY. Advertisement (inserted under the Print). "In about seventeen years [210] will be completed, in six volumes folio, price fifteen guineas, The Exact Measurements of the Periwigs of the Ancients ; taken from the Statues, Bustos, and Basso Relievos of Athens, Palmyra, Balbec, and Rome; by Modesto, Periwig-meter, from Lagado. N.B. —None will be sold but to Subscribers.—Published as the Act directs, Oct. 15, 1761, by W. Hogarth." P

2 minute read

Read Chapter

THE BENCH.

THE BENCH.

"CHARACTER, CARICATURE, AND OUTRE." "There are hardly any two things more essentially different than character and caricature; nevertheless they are usually confounded and mistaken for each other, on which account this explanation is attempted. "It has ever been allowed, that when a character is strongly marked in the living face, it may be considered as an index of the mind, to express which with any degree of justness in painting, requires the utmost efforts of a great master. Now, that which

3 minute read

Read Chapter

THE BEGGARS' OPERA.

THE BEGGARS' OPERA.

"The charge is prepar'd; the lawyers are met; The judges all rang'd (a terrible show!) I go undismayed,—for death is a debt, A debt on demand,—so take what I owe. Then farewell, my love,—dear charmers, adieu; Contented I die,—'tis the better for you. Here ends all dispute the rest of our lives, For this way at once I please all my wives." From the third act of this very instructive and popular opera, Mr. Hogarth has selected the subject of this print. The scene is laid in Newgate, and the point

7 minute read

Read Chapter

THE INDIAN EMPEROR; OR, THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO:

THE INDIAN EMPEROR; OR, THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO:

As performed at Mr. Conduit's, Master of the Mint, before the Duke of Cumberland, etc. DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. Cortez. Cydaria. Almeria. Alibeck. Act. IV. — Scene 4th.— A Prison. CYDARIA. "More cruel than the tiger o'er his spoil, And falser than the weeping crocodile; Can you add vanity to guilt, and take A pride to hear the conquests which you make? Go; publish your renown, let it be said You have a woman, and that lov'd betray'd." CORTEZ. "With what injustice is my faith accused! Life! freedom! emp

2 minute read

Read Chapter

THE END.

THE END.

The writer of this catalogue is now come to his last chapter, and has before him the last plate that Hogarth engraved, which is properly denominated the Finis to that great painter's works. Of the various opinions which the numerous readers of these his volumes will form at this his conclusion, he can have no certain judgment; but fears that some of them may be thus anticipated. The votary of comedy, who considers Hogarth as a mere burlesque painter, with whom he only wishes to laugh, will deem

7 minute read

Read Chapter

HOGARTH'S WORKS: WITH LIFE AND ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS PICTURES. —◆— THIRD SERIES.

HOGARTH'S WORKS: WITH LIFE AND ANECDOTAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HIS PICTURES. —◆— THIRD SERIES.

The no Dedication Not Dedicated to any Prince in Christendom for fear it might be thought an Idle piece of Arrogance. Not Dedicated to any man of quality for fear it might be thought too assuming. Not Dedicated to any learned body of Man, as either of the universityes, or the Royal Society, for fear it might be thought an uncommon piece of Vanity. Nor Dedicated to any one particular Friend for fear of offending another. Therefore Dedicated to nobody. But if for once we may suppose Nobody to be e

1 minute read

Read Chapter

ADVERTISEMENT.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The manuscripts from which the principal parts of this volume are compiled were written by the late Mr. Hogarth; had he lived a little longer, he would have methodized and published them. [1] On his decease, they devolved to his widow, who kept them sacred and entire [2] until her death, when they became the property of her relation and executrix, Mrs. Lewis, of Chiswick, by whose kindness and friendship they are now in my possession. This is the fair and honest pedigree of the Papers, which may

3 minute read

Read Chapter

INTRODUCTION.

INTRODUCTION.

Mr. Walpole (in p. 160 of his Anecdotes ) gravely declares that Hogarth had but slender merit as a painter, and in colouring proved no greater a master. By the six pictures of "Marriage à la Mode," both these declarations are answered and refuted. Mr. Nichols (in p. 449 of his Anecdotes ), at the same time that he kindly acknowledges "Hogarth's hand was faithful to character," roundly asserts that as an engraver his merits are inconsiderable; that he wants clearness; that his strokes sometimes l

9 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER I.

CHAPTER I.

HOGARTH'S OWN ACCOUNT OF HIS BIRTH AND EARLY EDUCATION. REASONS FOR HIS BEING APPRENTICED TO A SILVER-PLATE ENGRAVER; WITH WHICH EMPLOYMENT BECOMING DISGUSTED, HE COMMENCES AN ENGRAVER ON COPPER. METHOD OF STUDY. THE FATE OF THE FIRST PRINT HE PUBLISHED, ETC. "As many sets of my works have been lately sent to foreign countries, and others sold to persons who, from their ignorance of the particular circumstances at which I aimed, have mistaken their meaning and tendency, I have been told that a s

19 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER II.

MARRIES. PAINTS SMALL CONVERSATIONS, WHICH SUBJECTS HE QUITS FOR FAMILIAR PRINTS. ATTEMPTS HISTORY; BUT FINDING IT IS NOT ENCOURAGED IN ENGLAND, RETURNS TO ENGRAVING FROM HIS OWN DESIGNS. OCCASIONALLY TAKES PORTRAITS LARGE AS LIFE, FOR WHICH HE INCURS MUCH ABUSE. TO PROVE HIS POWERS AND VINDICATE HIS FAME, PAINTS THE ADMIRABLE PORTRAIT OF CAPTAIN CORAM, AND PRESENTS IT TO THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL. "I then married, and commenced painter of small conversation pieces, from twelve to fifteen inches hi

35 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER III.

OF ACADEMIES. HOGARTH'S OPINION OF THAT NOW DENOMINATED ROYAL; AND OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCE, GIVING PREMIUMS FOR PICTURES AND DRAWINGS. Among Hogarth's loose papers I found the rough draft of a letter (addressed but not directed) to a nobleman, declaring his disapprobation of a scheme by which certain projectors were endeavouring to establish a Royal Academy, and stating that he had a plan which would be much more useful. I do not know that he ever

40 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER IV.

CHAPTER IV.

THE MOTIVES BY WHICH HOGARTH WAS INDUCED TO PUBLISH HIS ANALYSIS OF BEAUTY; THE ABUSE IT DREW UPON HIM, AND HIS VINDICATION OF HIMSELF AND THE VOLUME. HE IS ELECTED A MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL ACADEMY AT AUGSBURG, AND APPOINTED SERJEANT PAINTER TO THE KING. Hogarth finding his prints were become sufficiently numerous to form a handsome volume, in the year 1745 [50] engraved his own portrait as a frontispiece. In one corner of the plate he introduced a painter's palette, on which was a waving line i

51 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER V.

CHAPTER V.

HOGARTH'S INDUCEMENT TO PAINTING THE PICTURE OF SIGISMUNDA. HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH LORD GROSVENOR ON THIS SUBJECT, CONTRASTED BY TWO LETTERS FROM LORD CHARLEMONT, FOR WHOM HE HAD PREVIOUSLY PAINTED AN INTERESTING SCENE. ORIGIN OF THE QUARREL WITH WILKES AND CHURCHILL, WHICH GAVE RISE TO THE PRINT OF THE BEAR, ETC.; AND THE ARTIST'S DEATH. The particulars relative to the picture of "Sigismunda," Hogarth has himself inserted in his subscription-book, on the leaves of which he has pasted his corre

19 minute read

Read Chapter

ENTHUSIASM DELINEATED,

ENTHUSIASM DELINEATED,

CONTRASTED WITH THE PRINT ENTITLED A MEDLEY; TO WHICH HOGARTH AFTERWARDS ALTERED THE PLATE. [83] "Idolatry is not only an accounting and worshipping that for God which is not God, but it is also a worshipping the true God in a way unsuitable to His nature, and particularly by the mediation of images and corporeal resemblances."— South. Such was the opinion of Dr. South, and such the opinion of Hogarth, when he designed this very extraordinary print, the intention of which is to give "a lineal re

5 minute read

Read Chapter

CREDULITY, SUPERSTITION, AND FANATICISM.

CREDULITY, SUPERSTITION, AND FANATICISM.

A MEDLEY. The preacher and the devil, except in a few shadows added to a handkerchief, are left as in the first state, and these are the only figures that are so left; from them and the background it is positively ascertained that the first and second engravings are on the same copperplate. Raphael's strange symbol of the Deity the artist has struck out, and in the place of it inserted a witch upon a broomstick; in stead of the puppets representing Adam and Eve, Peter and Paul, Moses and Aaron,

5 minute read

Read Chapter

TASTE IN HIGH LIFE

TASTE IN HIGH LIFE

IN THE YEAR 1742. The picture from which this print was copied, Hogarth painted by the order of Miss Edwards, a woman of large fortune, who, having been laughed at for some singularities in her manners, requested the artist to recriminate on her opponents, and paid him sixty guineas for his production. It is professedly intended to ridicule the reigning fashions of high life in the year 1742. To do this the painter has brought into one group an old beau and an old lady of the Chesterfield school

3 minute read

Read Chapter

FARINELLI, CUZZONI, AND SENESINO,

FARINELLI, CUZZONI, AND SENESINO,

IN THE CHARACTERS OF PTOLEMY, CLEOPATRA, AND JULIUS CÆSAR. "To banish nature and to vary art, To fix the ear but never reach the heart, To mangle sense and dress up meagre sound, While the same tasteless unison goes round; And still the point of excellence to place In execution, cadence, and grimace; To ravish with unnatural sounds the ear, While beaux applaud and belles with rapture hear, [94] The song we raise." This dignified heroine and the two heroes—of a class— "By their smooth chins and s

3 minute read

Read Chapter

A WOMAN SWEARING HER CHILD TO A GRAVE CITIZEN.

A WOMAN SWEARING HER CHILD TO A GRAVE CITIZEN.

"Here Justice triumphs in his elbow chair, And makes his market of the trading fair; His office shelves with parish laws are grac'd, But spelling-books and guides between 'em plac'd. [97] Here pregnant madam screens the real sire, And falsely swears her bastard child for hire Upon a rich old leecher, who denies The fact, and vows the naughty hussif lies. His wife enrag'd, exclaims against her spouse, And swears she'll be reveng'd upon his brows; The jade, the justice, and churchward'ns agree, An

2 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FOUNDLINGS.

THE FOUNDLINGS.

"No mother's care Shielded our infant innocence with prayer; No father's guardian hand our youth maintain'd, Call'd forth our virtues, and from vice restrain'd; But strangers,—pitying strangers,—hear our cry, And with parental care each want supply." The last print represented what Mr. Picart chose to call a religious ceremony,—in this we have a scene which may properly be so denominated; for surely rescuing deserted, unoffending, and helpless innocence from destruction, providing an asylum for

2 minute read

Read Chapter

FRONTISPIECE TO TERRÆ FILIUS.

FRONTISPIECE TO TERRÆ FILIUS.

The work to which this is a frontispiece was written by Nicholas Amhurst, author of the Craftsman , and published in the year 1726. The leading object of this writer is to satirize the Tory principles of the University of Oxford; but as the book does not abound in subjects for the pencil, Hogarth has selected a scene described in No. 33, published 8th May 1721, which contains "Advice to all gentlemen schoolboys, etc., who are designed for the University of Oxford." In the part which forms the su

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE SEPULCHRE.

THE SEPULCHRE.

It has been frequently and truly remarked, that in either historical or serious subjects Hogarth did not excel; but to prove that even in this walk he was considerably above mediocrity, and that the reader may be enabled to judge for himself, I have selected the annexed print, which forms one compartment of the altar-piece to St. Mary Redcliffe's, Bristol, for the painting of which he received five hundred pounds. The centre division, which is much the largest, represents the Ascension. The rays

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE POLITICIAN.

THE POLITICIAN.

A politician should (as I have read) Be furnished in the first place with a head! One of our old writers gives it as his opinion, that "there are only two subjects which are worthy the study of a wise man, i.e. religion and politics." For the first, it does not come under inquiry in this print; but certain it is, that too sedulously studying the second has frequently involved its votaries in many most tedious and unprofitable disputes, and been the source of much evil to many well-meaning and ho

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE MATCHMAKER.

THE MATCHMAKER.

"Wanted immediately— A Husband ." — Vide the daily papers. The two agreeable persons here introduced formed part of a group in an unfinished picture painted by Hogarth. They were some years since engraved on two copperplates; but as I thought that was placing still further apart the hands of those twain whom the holy service of matrimony was soon to unite, I have here brought them into one, and in this we are presented with the bride and that useful agent of Hymen, denominated a Matchmaker. We s

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE MAN OF TASTE.

THE MAN OF TASTE.

The circumstance on which this print is built is thus described by Dr. Johnson:— "Mr. Pope published in 1731 a poem called False Taste , in which he very particularly and severely criticises the house, the furniture, the gardens, and the entertainments of Timon, a man of great wealth and little taste. By Timon he was universally supposed, and by the Earl of Burlington, to whom the poem is addressed, was privately said, to mean the Duke of Chandos, a man perhaps too much delighted with pomp and s

3 minute read

Read Chapter

HENRY FIELDING.

HENRY FIELDING.

This admirable writer was born at Sharpham Park, in Somersetshire, near Glastonbury, April 22, 1707. His father, Edmund Fielding, served in the wars under the Duke of Marlborough, and arrived at the rank of lieutenant-general at the latter end of George I. or beginning of George II. He was grandson to an Earl of Denbigh, and nearly related to the Duke of Kingston, and many other noble families. His mother was the daughter of Judge Gould, the grandfather of Sir Henry Gould, one of the Barons of t

3 minute read

Read Chapter

SIMON LORD LOVAT.

SIMON LORD LOVAT.

Simon Lord Lovat was born in the year 1667; his father was the twenty-second person who had enjoyed the title of Lovat in lineal descent. His mother was Dame Sybilla Macleod, daughter of the Chief of the clan of the Macleods, so famous for its unalterable loyalty to its princes. Buchanan relates a marvellous story of the family at the battle of Loch Lochlie, 1544. In this battle Lord Lovat, his four brothers, his three sons, and the whole clan of the Frazers, were cut to pieces; but if we are to

4 minute read

Read Chapter

NINE PRINTS FOR DON QUIXOTE.

NINE PRINTS FOR DON QUIXOTE.

The first of these prints is copied from a plate in Jarvis' quarto translation of this inimitable work; it has neither painter nor engraver's name, but carries indisputable marks of the pencil and burin of Hogarth. The second is from an unfinished print in my possession, which I think by the same artist. The six which follow were designed for Lord Carteret's Spanish edition, published in the year 1738; but as they are etched in a bold and masterly style, I suppose the noble peer did not think th

6 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE I. THE FIRST SALLY IN QUEST OF ADVENTURES.

PLATE I. THE FIRST SALLY IN QUEST OF ADVENTURES.

The original from which this plate is copied is in Jarvis' quarto translation, without either painter's or engraver's name; but the style of the etching, and air of the figures, indisputably determine the artist. It represents our heroic candidate for fame, before he had received the honour of knighthood, at the door of an inn, which he considered as a castle; the host holding his horse's bridle, and two young female travellers looking with astonishment at his figure. In the distance is a swineh

36 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE II. THE INNKEEPER.

PLATE II. THE INNKEEPER.

The original of this print is in my possession, and was designed to represent the innkeeper conferring the order of knighthood on Don Quixote, but for some cause, not now known, never finished. The artist probably intended that it should form a part of the series begun for Lord Carteret, but the other six being discarded, never completed his design; though a slight outline of the Don kneeling to receive his new honours is discernible in the corner of the print. Mine host, though a large man, is

42 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE III. THE FUNERAL OF CHRYSOSTOM.

PLATE III. THE FUNERAL OF CHRYSOSTOM.

The stern attention which our Don gives to the Shepherdess Marcella, who is vindicating herself to those that surround the corpse, well expresses his determination to defend her cause, and protect her from insult. The shepherd in a similar attitude to the soldier in Vandyke's "Belisarius," and Sancho blubbering with his finger in his eye, are well-imagined; but the figure of Marcella is affected and stiff, and the shepherd on her right hand has more city pertness than rural simplicity. Vanderban

36 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE IV. THE INNKEEPER'S WIFE AND DAUGHTER ADMINISTERING CHIRURGICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE POOR KNIGHT OF LA MANCHA.

PLATE IV. THE INNKEEPER'S WIFE AND DAUGHTER ADMINISTERING CHIRURGICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE POOR KNIGHT OF LA MANCHA.

Don Quixote's adventure with the Yanguessian carriers having terminated in his being most bountifully beaten, he is here represented in the hay-loft of a very sorry inn, attended by the hostess and her daughter, Maritornes, and his faithful squire; the two former administering comfort to his sufferings, the third holding a candle; and the last, with a most rueful countenance, bewailing his own unfortunate participation in the buffetings of his lord and master. The picture which Cervantes draws o

1 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE V. DON QUIXOTE SEIZES THE BARBER'S BASIN FOR MAMBRINO'S HELMET.

PLATE V. DON QUIXOTE SEIZES THE BARBER'S BASIN FOR MAMBRINO'S HELMET.

In this print the face and figure of the fierce knight is spirited; the terror and astonishment of the discomfited barber well expressed, and the triumphant shout of Sancho in the distance admirably characteristic. Notwithstanding this, I think that Vanderbank's design for Jarvis, where the squire is brought into the foreground, contemplating the glittering prize, is a better chosen point of time. To Sancho he has given a mixture of cunning and simplicity which I have seldom seen so happily disp

32 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE VI. DON QUIXOTE RELEASES THE GALLEY SLAVES.

PLATE VI. DON QUIXOTE RELEASES THE GALLEY SLAVES.

The moment taken in this busy scene is when our valorous knight, after having unhorsed one of the guards, is engaged with the other; while Sancho, willing to bear his part in the adventure, helps to extricate Gines de Passamonte from his bonds. In this, as in some other of Hogarth's designs, the artist not having taken the trouble of reversing his drawing, the figures are left-handed. The character of Sancho, and two or three of the slaves, is admirable. I think the whole design much superior to

40 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE VII. THE FIRST INTERVIEW OF THE VALOROUS KNIGHT OF LA MANCHA WITH THE UNFORTUNATE KNIGHT OF THE ROCK.

PLATE VII. THE FIRST INTERVIEW OF THE VALOROUS KNIGHT OF LA MANCHA WITH THE UNFORTUNATE KNIGHT OF THE ROCK.

This interview, which took place in the mountains of Sierra Morena, Cervantes thus describes:— "Cardenio approached with a grave pace, and in a hoarse voice saluted them with great courtesy. Don Quixote returned his greeting with no less complaisance, and pressed him strongly in his arms, as if they had been long acquainted. The Knight of the Rock, after he had been thus embraced, retreated a few steps, and, laying his hand on the Don's shoulder, perused his face with such earnestness, as though

1 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE VIII. THE CURATE AND BARBER DISGUISING THEMSELVES TO CONVEY DON QUIXOTE HOME.

PLATE VIII. THE CURATE AND BARBER DISGUISING THEMSELVES TO CONVEY DON QUIXOTE HOME.

Don Quixote's old neighbours, the curate and barber, being desirous of checking his wandering disposition, are here disguising themselves for an interview, in which they hoped to bring him home, where they trusted he might again live as an old Christian ought to do. In pursuance of this plan, the barber procured an ample beard made from the tail of a pied ox; and the curate assumed the habit of a distressed virgin, and framed a tale of having been wronged by a naughty knight, to punish whom the

45 minute read

Read Chapter

PLATE IX. SANCHO'S FEAST.

PLATE IX. SANCHO'S FEAST.

"Sancho's dread doctor and his wand were there." Though Don Quixote is the ostensible hero of this admirable history, I have sometimes thought that Sancho was the author's favourite character. He is here represented as Governor of Barataria, and seated in the spacious hall of a sumptuous palace, surrounded with all the pompous parade of high rank, and encircled by numerous attendants. [119] A band of musicians in an adjoining gallery strike up a symphony to gratify his ear, and a table is spread

2 minute read

Read Chapter

HEIDEGGER IN A RAGE.

HEIDEGGER IN A RAGE.

The spirited sketch from which this is copied has been thought the work of P. Mercier; but some of my subscribers thinking it bore a strong resemblance to Hogarth, I at their request submitted it to public opinion. It arose from the following circumstance:— The late Duke of Montagu invited Heidegger to a tavern, where he was made drunk, and fell asleep; in that situation a mould of his face was taken, from which was made a mask; and the Duke provided a man of the same stature to appear in a simi

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE LARGE MASQUERADE TICKET.

THE LARGE MASQUERADE TICKET.

As the first print which Hogarth published on his own account, usually denominated "The Small Masquerade Ticket," represents a large company eagerly pressing to the door of a masquerade, we have here the interior of the room crowded with a countless multitude of grotesque characters, celebrating the orgies of the place, which, in the following references engraved under the original print, are thus described:— " A , a sacrifice to Priapus. B , a pair of Lecherometors, showing y e company's inclin

4 minute read

Read Chapter

AN EMBLEMATIC PRINT ON THE SOUTH SEA.

AN EMBLEMATIC PRINT ON THE SOUTH SEA.

The two prints here given are selected as two of the earliest avowed productions of Hogarth. The allegory in both is somewhat obscure; but the figures are in the manner of Callot, and in a spirited and masterly style. They were both published in 1721, and are a proof that at this early period the admirable vein of satire which he possessed was directed against the vices and follies of the age. In the first of them we see (to use an expression of Mr. Walpole) "the Devil cutting Fortune into collo

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE LOTTERY.

THE LOTTERY.

Under the print of "The Lottery," the artist has given a full description of his own ideas, which otherwise, at this distance of time, it would have been difficult to elucidate....

10 minute read

Read Chapter

MASQUERADES AND OPERAS—BURLINGTON GATE.

MASQUERADES AND OPERAS—BURLINGTON GATE.

This satirical performance of Hogarth, which is commonly called "The Small Masquerade Ticket," is supposed to have been invented and drawn at the instigation of Sir James Thornhill, out of revenge, because Lord Burlington had preferred Mr. Kent before him to paint for George the Second at his palace at Kensington; and the leader of the figures hurrying to a masquerade, crowned with a cap and bells, and a garter round his right leg, has been said to be intended for that monarch, who was very part

3 minute read

Read Chapter

BEGGARS' OPERA BURLESQUED.

BEGGARS' OPERA BURLESQUED.

This plate seems at once to represent the exhibition of The Beggars' Opera , and the rehearsal of an Italian one. In the former, all the characters are drawn with the heads of different animals: as Polly with a cat's; Lucy with a sow's; Macheath with that of an ass; Lockit, and Mr. and Mrs. Peachum, with those of an ox, a dog, and an owl. In the latter, several noblemen appear conducting the chief female singer forward on the stage; and perhaps are offering her money, or protection from a figure

1 minute read

Read Chapter

TWELVE PRINTS OF HUDIBRAS.

TWELVE PRINTS OF HUDIBRAS.

This well-imagined series of plates was designed by Hogarth, and engraved by himself, for the matchless poem of Butler. Each plate is illustrated by an appropriate quotation from the facetious satirist; and as our ingenious artist formed his designs from an attentive perusal of the poem, his engravings, and the extracts selected under each of them, reciprocally explain each other. "His 'Hudibras,'" says Mr. Walpole, "was the first of his works that marked him as a man above the common; yet," add

2 minute read

Read Chapter

JUST VIEW OF THE BRITISH STAGE.

JUST VIEW OF THE BRITISH STAGE.

Mr. Walpole, in his Catalogue , thus describes this plate: "Booth, Wilkes, and Cibber, contriving a Pantomime; a Satire on Farces." Though the inscription engraved under it is sufficiently explanatory, it may be added that Mr. Devoto was scene-painter either to Drury Lane or Lincoln's-Inn Fields, and also to Goodman's Fields Theatre; that the ropes mentioned in the inscription are no other than halters, suspended over the heads of the three managers; and that the labels issuing from their respec

1 minute read

Read Chapter

EXAMINATION OF BAMBRIDGE.

EXAMINATION OF BAMBRIDGE.

This very fine picture, Hogarth himself tells us, was painted in 1729 for Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk, Bart., at that time Knight of the Shire for Aberdeen, and one of the Committee represented in the painting,—many of whom attended daily, and some of them twice a day. That every other figure in this print is a genuine portrait, there cannot be the least doubt, though at this distant period it is not possible to identify the particular persons; they are all, however, to be found in the follo

2 minute read

Read Chapter

KING HENRY VIII. AND ANNA BULLEYN.

KING HENRY VIII. AND ANNA BULLEYN.

This plate, copied from a painting in the portico of the old great room in Vauxhall Gardens, has very idly been imagined to contain the portraits of Frederick Prince of Wales, and the beautiful but unfortunate Lady Vane; but the stature and faces both of the lady and Henry are totally unlike their supposed originals....

19 minute read

Read Chapter

CROWNS, MITRES, MACES, ETC.

CROWNS, MITRES, MACES, ETC.

This plate forms so important a feature in the annals of Hogarth, that it requires his own elucidation:— "After having had my plates pirated in almost all sizes, I applied to Parliament for redress, and obtained it in so liberal a manner, as hath not only answered my own purpose, but made prints a considerable article in the commerce of this country, there being now more business of that kind done here than at Paris, or anywhere else, and as well." The statute, which took place June 24, 1735, wa

2 minute read

Read Chapter

THE ROYAL MASQUERADE.

THE ROYAL MASQUERADE.

This very interesting scene, which may be dated early in 1755, is thus anticipated by Mr. Walpole, in a letter to Mr. Richard Bentley, Dec. 24, 1754:—"The Russian ambassador is to give a masquerade for the birth of the little great prince (the Czar, Paul I.). The King lends him Somerset House: he wanted to borrow the palace over against me, and sent to ask it of the cardinal-nephew (Henry Earl of Lincoln, nephew to the Duke of Newcastle, to whose title he succeeded), who replied, 'Not for half R

1 minute read

Read Chapter

RICH'S TRIUMPHANT ENTRY.

RICH'S TRIUMPHANT ENTRY.

This plate represents the removal of Rich, and his scenery, authors, actors, etc., from Lincoln's-Inn Fields to the new house. The scene is the area of Covent Garden, across which, leading toward the door of the theatre, is a long procession, consisting of a cart loaded with thunder and lightning, per formers, etc.; and at the head of them Mr. Rich (invested with the skin of the famous dog in Perseus and Andromeda ) riding with his mistress in a chariot driven by harlequin, and drawn by satyrs.

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE POOL OF BETHESDA, AND THE GOOD SAMARITAN.

THE POOL OF BETHESDA, AND THE GOOD SAMARITAN.

These magnificent prints are placed among the early productions of Hogarth, as the paintings from which they are copied were completed in 1737; and in 1748 a small copy of the "Pool of Bethesda" was engraved by Ravenet, as a frontispiece to Stackhouse's Family Bible. Mr. Walpole observes, that "the burlesque turn of our artist's mind mixed itself with his most serious compositions; and that, in the 'Pool of Bethesda,' a servant of a rich ulcerated lady beats back a poor man (perhaps woman) who s

4 minute read

Read Chapter

MARTIN FOLKES, ESQ.

MARTIN FOLKES, ESQ.

This elegant scholar was a mathematician and antiquary of much celebrity in the philosophical annals of literature. In 1713, at the early age of 24, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1741 was elected President. Mr. Folkes was also an early Member of the Society of Antiquaries, having been elected in 1719-20; and his communications to both societies were numerous and valuable. His knowledge in ancient and modern coins was very extensive; and the most important work he produced,

1 minute read

Read Chapter

BISHOP HOADLEY.

BISHOP HOADLEY.

This portrait is in grand style, though rather in the French manner. The painting, and the plate engraved from it by Baron, were carefully preserved in the Bishop's family. Dr. Benjamin Hoadley, a prelate of considerable eminence, was born November 4, 1676; educated at Catharine Hall, Cambridge; elected Lecturer of St. Mildred, Poultry, 1701; Rector of St. Peter-le-Poor in 1704, and of Streatham in 1710; King's Chaplain, February 16, 1715-16; Bishop of Bangor, March 18 following; translated to H

1 minute read

Read Chapter

MR. RANBY'S HOUSE AT CHISWICK.

MR. RANBY'S HOUSE AT CHISWICK.

This view, etched by Hogarth in 1748 without any inscription, was first published by his widow in 1781....

9 minute read

Read Chapter

HYMEN AND CUPID.

HYMEN AND CUPID.

This neat plate was engraved as a ticket for the masque of Alfred , performed in 1748, at Cliveden House, before the Prince and Princess of Wales, on the Princess Augusta's birthday. It was afterwards intended as a receipt for "Sigismunda."...

14 minute read

Read Chapter

FALSE PERSPECTIVE.

FALSE PERSPECTIVE.

Early in 1753, Hogarth presented to his friend Mr. Joshua Kirby this whimsical satirical design; which arose from the mistakes of Sir Edward Walpole, who was learning to draw without being taught perspective: an anecdote recorded by Mr. Steevens, on Sir Edward's own authority. To point out in a strong light the errors which would be likely to happen from the want of acquaintance with those principles, Hogarth's design was produced. A traveller is represented on an eminence, lighting his pipe fro

2 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FARMER'S RETURN.

THE FARMER'S RETURN.

The little drama by Mr. Garrick, in which this exquisite frontispiece first appeared, was thus prefaced: "The following interlude was prepared for the stage, merely with a view of assisting Mrs. Pritchard at her benefit; and the desire of serving so good an actress is a better excuse for its defects than the few days in which it was written and represented. Notwithstanding the favourable reception it has met with, the author would not have printed it, had not his friend Mr. Hogarth flattered him

1 minute read

Read Chapter

TRISTRAM SHANDY.

TRISTRAM SHANDY.

For this popular work of his friend Lawrence Sterne, Hogarth furnished two frontispieces; one in 1759, for the second volume; the other in 1761, for the fourth. The first of these is taken from the chapter in which Corporal Trim is represented reading a sermon to Tristram's father, Uncle Toby, and Dr. Slop, the latter of whom is fallen asleep, and who was intended for Dr. John Burton, a physician of great eminence at York, well known as an able and industrious antiquary, and also as a sturdy Jac

33 minute read

Read Chapter

FOUR HEADS FROM THE CARTOONS.

FOUR HEADS FROM THE CARTOONS.

These heads were copied from the cartoons at Hampton Court; and Mr. Walpole, speaking of Sir James Thornhill's attention to these celebrated pictures, has the following remark: "He made copious studies of the heads, hands, and feet, and intended to publish an exact account of the whole for the use of students; but his work never appeared." As this plate was found among others engraved by Hogarth, it might probably have been one of his early performances. His widow, in 1781, directed a few impres

29 minute read

Read Chapter

THE SHRIMP-GIRL.

THE SHRIMP-GIRL.

In this portrait from the life, first published in 1782, from the original sketch in oil, are united the talents of Hogarth and Bartolozzi; but the plate, which is executed in the dotted manner then so much in fashion, should have been etched, or engraved, like those excellent performances by Bartolozzi after the drawings of Guercino; as spirit, rather than delicacy, is the characteristic of our artist's shrimp-girl....

21 minute read

Read Chapter

LORD HOLLAND.

LORD HOLLAND.

This is a serious portrait, from a drawing by Hogarth in 1757, of that celebrated nobleman, whom he afterwards introduced in the second plate of "The Times," as the powerful antagonist of Lord Bute. The public life of this great statesman is too well known to need recital here. Let it suffice to say, that in 1756 he resigned the office of Secretary at War to Mr. Pitt; and in the following year was appointed Paymaster of the Forces, which he retained until the commencement of the reign of King Ge

44 minute read

Read Chapter

EARL OF CHARLEMONT.

EARL OF CHARLEMONT.

James Caulfield, son of James Viscount Charlemont, was born August 18, 1728; succeeded to his hereditary honours, April 21, 1734; and in December 1782, was raised to an earldom. He was F.R.S., F.S.A., and LL.D.; and died August 4, 1799, aged 70....

15 minute read

Read Chapter

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

This fine print exhibits an inside view of the House of Commons, from an original painting taken in 1726 or 1727, and now in the possession of the Earl of Onslow. The prominent portraits are those of the Right Hon. Arthur Onslow, the then Speaker; Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister; Sidney Godolphin, Esq., Father of the House; Colonel Onslow; Sir James Thornhill; Sir Joseph Jekyll; Edward Stables, Esq., Clerk of the House; Mr. Askew, Clerk-Assistant, and several others in the background....

25 minute read

Read Chapter

DEBATES ON PALMISTRY.

DEBATES ON PALMISTRY.

The figures employed in the study of palmistry seem to have been designed for physicians and surgeons of an hospital, who are debating on the most commodious method of receiving a fee, inattentive to the complaints of a lame female who solicits assistance. A spectre, resembling the royal Dane, comes out behind, perhaps to intimate that physic and poison will occasionally produce similar effects. A glass-case containing skeletons is open; a crocodile hangs overhead; and an owl, emblematic of this

40 minute read

Read Chapter

THE STAYMAKER.

THE STAYMAKER.

The humour in this print is not very striking. The male staymaker seems to be taking professional liberties with a female in the very room where her husband sits, who is playing with one of his children presented to him by a nurse, perhaps with a view to call off his attention from what is going forward. The hag shows her pretended love for the infant by the mode in which she is kissing him. A maidservant holds a looking-glass for the lady, and peeps significantly at the operator from behind it.

37 minute read

Read Chapter

CHARITY IN THE CELLAR.

CHARITY IN THE CELLAR.

The original picture from which this print was engraved, was painted for the late Lord Boyne. It represents a convivial party assembled in a cellar over a hogshead of claret, who, it is said, resolved not to separate till they had drunk all the wine it contained. Whether such a circumstance really gave rise to the picture or not, it is unnecessary to inquire. It is too well known that the habit of drinking to excess, among all classes of society, existed at the time of Hogarth to such a degree a

2 minute read

Read Chapter

SIX TICKETS.

SIX TICKETS.

The several designs collected in this plate require no particular description. They are given as specimens of the facility with which Hogarth descended to minor subjects, at the same time embellishing them with strokes of his peculiar vein of pleasantry and humour; and each of them sufficiently evinces the purpose it was intended to recommend. 1. For the Mock Doctor. 2. For Pasquin. 3. For the Beggars' Opera. 4. For Joe Miller. 5. Thomas Figg, the noted prize-fighter. 6. The Ram Inn at Cirencest

51 minute read

Read Chapter

SOUTHWARK FAIR.

SOUTHWARK FAIR.

Although Hogarth, from a fear of creating himself enemies, disclaimed individual portrait in his compositions, particularly of characters in the higher walks of life, he was evidently not so scrupulous in indulging his satire when representing more familiar scenes; and accordingly his "Harlot's Progress," "Four Times of the Day," "Industry and Idleness," "March to Finchley," etc., are found to be less peopled with ideal personages than the "Marriage à la Mode," and some others. "Southwark Fair"

4 minute read

Read Chapter

MARRIAGE A LA MODE.

MARRIAGE A LA MODE.

Plate III. —The Procuress at the Quack's in this print is said to be designed for the once celebrated Betty Careless, and the remark is countenanced by the initials "B. C." on her bosom. This woman, by a very natural transition, from being one of the most fashionable of the Cyprian corps, became lady abbess of a brothel; and, after frequent arrests and imprisonments, was buried from the poorhouse of St. Paul's, Covent Garden, April 22, 1752. Fielding, in his Amelia , says: "It is impossible to c

1 minute read

Read Chapter

HARLOT'S PROGRESS.

HARLOT'S PROGRESS.

Plate II. —The commentators on Hogarth do not seem to have assigned a satisfactory reason for the particular subjects of the two paintings which ornament the Harlot's apartment in this plate, viz. "David dancing before the Ark," and "Jonah sitting under a Gourd." One supposes them merely intended to convey a ridicule on the old masters, or placed here to satirize the impropriety of adorning rooms with inappropriate subjects. Another, as stories selected at random, but having a reference to the n

2 minute read

Read Chapter

RAKE'S PROGRESS.

RAKE'S PROGRESS.

Plate III. — Tavern Scene. —In the second state of this plate, Pontac's head is introduced in the place of a mutilated Cæsar. Pontac was a celebrated purveyor at this time. In the "Hind and Panther" transversed, Pontac's eating-house is mentioned with epicurean honours: "When at Pontac's he may regale himself." It was chiefly frequented as a chop-house, but every other luxury might be had there. Plate VIII.—The maniac chained to the floor of his cell in this print is noticed by Mr. Ireland as be

3 minute read

Read Chapter

IDLE AND INDUSTRIOUS APPRENTICE.

IDLE AND INDUSTRIOUS APPRENTICE.

Plate VIII. —Speaking of the disposition of a crowd in a picture, Mr. Gilpin says:—"I do not recollect having seen a crowd better managed than Hogarth has managed one in the last print of his 'Idle 'Prentice.' In combining the multifarious company which attends the spectacle of an execution, he hath exemplified all the observations I have made. I have not the print before me, but I have often admired it in this light; nor do I recollect observing anything offensive in it, which is rare in the ma

30 minute read

Read Chapter

THE TIMES.

THE TIMES.

The wild Indian painted on a show-cloth, with the inscription underneath, "Alive from America," is meant as a satire on Alderman Beckford, for whose recent uncourtly speech to Majesty (see the Guildhall Statue ) the painter has represented him as a savage....

13 minute read

Read Chapter

FOUR TIMES OF THE DAY.

FOUR TIMES OF THE DAY.

Plate II. — Noon. —The boy who has had the misfortune to break the baked pudding, a commentator on Hogarth asserts was the late Mr. Henderson the player, who often sportively assured his friends that he stood to Hogarth for the sketch when he was with Fournier the drawing-master. But this is impossible, as the prints in the receipt are promised to be delivered by Lady-day 1738, several years before Henderson was born. A correspondent has assured us that he has repeatedly heard his grandfather, a

2 minute read

Read Chapter

ENRAGED MUSICIAN.

ENRAGED MUSICIAN.

Cervetto, well known by the name of "Nosee," has been generally supposed to be intended by the character of the musician; but there are others who apply it to Dr. Arne; for though not a strict likeness of that great composer, the figure and face bear so near a resemblance (and he was extremely remarkable) as fully to authorize the application. The known irritability of the Doctor in musical business might not have been the only cause of Hogarth's placing him in this ludicrous situation; his habi

52 minute read

Read Chapter

SIGISMUNDA.

SIGISMUNDA.

This celebrated picture, which, at the time of first publishing the preceding volumes, was in the possession of Messrs. Boydell &amp; Co., but has since been in other hands, was advertised to be sold by auction, with other effects, by Mr. Jacques, May 12, 1812, on the premises, Great James Street, Bedford Row, and was to be seen by applying for tickets for that purpose to the auctioneer....

19 minute read

Read Chapter

THE BEGGARS' OPERA.

THE BEGGARS' OPERA.

In addition to the value of this print as a collection of portraits, it may be observed that it contains the only known representation of the inside of the Lincoln's-Inn Fields Theatre. This playhouse was opened under the management of Betterton, with the comedy of Love for Love , which had a very considerable run. The Beggars' Opera , however, was of still superior attraction, and it carried all before it. After continuing open with various success for several seasons, the Lincoln's-Inn Fields

34 minute read

Read Chapter

SLEEPY CONGREGATION.

SLEEPY CONGREGATION.

The clergyman preaching is supposed to represent Dr. Desaguliers. But why Hogarth has assigned him this post of honour, does not appear. This gentleman was the son of a French Protestant clergyman; was educated at Cambridge, and held the donative of Whitchurch, in Middlesex. He was the first lecturer on experimental philosophy in the capital, and published his lectures in two vols. 4to. He died at his lodgings at the Bedford Coffeehouse, Covent Garden, Feb. 29, 1744, and was buried, March 26, at

43 minute read

Read Chapter

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST

OF HOGARTH'S WORKS, WITH THE VARIATIONS, Etc....

3 minute read

Read Chapter