Using art to condemn the moral shortcomings of society is nothing new. English artist William Hogarth (1697-1764) was renowned for prints that revealed the moral lapses of eighteenth-century England. Despite the fact that Hogarth enjoyed the patronage of England's wealthier citizens, he did not shrink away from producing scathing depictions of all levels of English society.
In the ten-print series Industry and Idleness, Hogarth presents two apprentices who begin working side by side only to arrive at vastly different ends. The first apprentice is portrayed as a morally incorruptible, diligent worker.He is promoted, marries his boss's daughter, and achieves great distinction and financial success. The other apprentice does little work and engages in many unsavory activities.He is fired from his apprenticeship and continues down a path of illicit behavior and corruption. The series comes to a climax when the two former coworkers are reunited with the industrious apprentice-now elevated to alderman-standing in judgment of the idle coworker brought before him for murder. The idle apprentice is sentenced to death and executed, whereas the industrious apprentice goes on to become Lord Mayor of London.
Among Hogarth's most popular series was The Rake's Progress, which tells the story of wealthy Tom Rakewell. In the first of eight prints, Tom inherits a large sum of money that he foolishly spends on enhancing his image and prestige in superficial ways.His prodigal ways lead to his rapid decline as he is arrested for debt and in return marries an old maid for her money.He begins gambling, is imprisoned, and eventually goes insane in Bedlam. Tom's descent and desperate outcome, like many of Hogarth's subjects, is tied directly to moral corruption and poor self-discipline.
It is interesting that Hogarth's prints were extremely popular in his day.Whatever the moral
shortcomings of eighteenth-century England, its citizens welcomed Hogarth's social critiques and harsh judgments.
In the ten-print series Industry and Idleness, Hogarth presents two apprentices who begin working side by side only to arrive at vastly different ends. The first apprentice is portrayed as a morally incorruptible, diligent worker.He is promoted, marries his boss's daughter, and achieves great distinction and financial success. The other apprentice does little work and engages in many unsavory activities.He is fired from his apprenticeship and continues down a path of illicit behavior and corruption. The series comes to a climax when the two former coworkers are reunited with the industrious apprentice-now elevated to alderman-standing in judgment of the idle coworker brought before him for murder. The idle apprentice is sentenced to death and executed, whereas the industrious apprentice goes on to become Lord Mayor of London.
Among Hogarth's most popular series was The Rake's Progress, which tells the story of wealthy Tom Rakewell. In the first of eight prints, Tom inherits a large sum of money that he foolishly spends on enhancing his image and prestige in superficial ways.His prodigal ways lead to his rapid decline as he is arrested for debt and in return marries an old maid for her money.He begins gambling, is imprisoned, and eventually goes insane in Bedlam. Tom's descent and desperate outcome, like many of Hogarth's subjects, is tied directly to moral corruption and poor self-discipline.
It is interesting that Hogarth's prints were extremely popular in his day.Whatever the moral
shortcomings of eighteenth-century England, its citizens welcomed Hogarth's social critiques and harsh judgments.
