The Invasion, Plate 1: France
March 8, 1756
Medium
Etching and engraving; third state of three
Dimensions
plate: 12 1/2 x 15 1/2 in. (31.7 x 39.3 cm) sheet: 13 3/16 x 16 5/16 in. (33.5 x 41.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Sarah Lazarus, 1891
Accession Number
91.1.134
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
William Hogarth's *The Invasion, Plate : France* (1756) is a biting satirical print from the British artist's renowned series responding to fears of a French invasion at the outset of the Seven Years' War. Created amid rising Anglo-French tensions, this etching and engraving captures the chaos of imagined enemy preparations through exaggerated caricature, a hallmark of Hogarth'sistic and patriotic style. As Plate 1 of two, it mocks French military pomp with soldiers, firearms, blazing fires, a prominent cross, and looming ships, blending humor with propaganda to rally British spirit. Printed ...
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...