A Rake's Progress: pl.6
1735
Medium
etching and engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 36.4 × 41.7 cm (14 5/16 × 16 7/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1944.5.33
Art Historical Context
William Hogarth's *A Rake's Progress Plate 6* (1735) is the sixth installment in his iconic series of eight satirical prints, which trace the tragic downfall of the fictional Tom Rakewell. Inherited wealth leads Tom from reckless debauchery to ruin, serving as a vivid moral warning against vice in 18th-century England.arth, a pioneering English artist, drew from everyday life to critique the excesses of the Georgian era's upper classes, blending sharp social commentary with dramatic narrative flair characteristic of his "modern moral subjects." This etching and engraving captures a pivotal mo...
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...