Plates four, five, and six from A Harlot's Progress
1732/61
Medium
Three etchings from three plates, two in red ink and one in olive green ink, on cream wove paper, laid down on off-white laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate, left: 13 × 15.5 cm (5 1/8 × 6 1/8 in.); Image/plate, center: 13 × 15 cm (5 1/8 × 5 15/16 in.); Image/plate, right: 14.4 × 14 cm (5 11/16 × 5 9/16 in.); Primary support: 15.5 × 50.1 cm (6 1/8 × 19 3/4 in.); Secondary support: 29.6 × 51 cm (11 11/16 × 20 1/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
60032
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Despite the resounding success of A Harlot’s Progress, William Hogarth waited over ten years to release a second edition. Before the implementation of the 1735 Engraver’s Act, he had little recourse to combat plagiarism. This rare unmounted fan leaf is printed with colorful, reduced-scale etchings of the harlot’s entry into the workhouse, final moments, and funeral. A complete fan would have boasted the three earlier scenes on the other side; indeed, the folds in the paper suggest the impression...
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...