A Rake's Progress: pl.2
1735
Medium
etching and engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 35.7 × 41.2 cm (14 1/16 × 16 1/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1944.5.28
Art Historical Context
William Hogarth's *A Rake's Progress Plate 2* (1735) is the second installment in his famous series of eight satirical prints, chronicling the tragic downfall of the fictional Tom Rakewell, a young heir who squanders his fortune on vice and folly. Created during the early Georgian era in England, these works exemplify Hogarth's mastery of moralistic narrative art, blending sharp social commentary with vivid storytelling to warn against the perils of dissipation. As a pioneering figure in British art, Hogarth drew from the Rococo style but infused it with gritty realism, critiquing the excesses...
About the Artist
William Hogarth · 1697–1764
William Hogarth (1697-1764) was an English painter, printmaker, and pictorial satirist who became the first great English-born artist to attract admiration abroad. Born into poverty in London, the son of a failed schoolmaster who was imprisoned for debt, Hogarth's early experiences with the harsh realities of 18th-century urban life profoundly shaped his artistic vision. After apprenticing with si...