Soon after completing his first great artistic hit, A Harlot’s Progress, Hogarth began working on what was effectively a sequel: A Rake’s Progress. This was a more elaborate enterprise than its predecessor, taking the form of eight pictures that told the story of Tom Rakewell, a dissolute man-about-town in Georgian London. Packed with detail, each of Hogarth’s images cry out for investigation and interpretation. In this lecture, Mark Hallett looks at each of these images in close-up and tells their complex and satirical story.
William Hogarth was an English painter and printmaker. Born in London in 1697, Hogarth went on to undertake an apprenticeship as an engraver, which he later abandoned. He is most noted for his serialised works satirising society and morality. His works became hugely popular due to the mass production and distribution of his etchings. In this series, Mark Hallett (Director of Studies, Paul Mellon Centre), Meredith Gamer (Assistant Professor, Columbia University), and Elizabeth Robles (Lecturer, University of Bristol) will introduce you to Hogarth and his most noted works.
Shot and edited by Jonathan Law
Music by Daniel Birch, 'Sustained Light', 2021, CC BY 4.0