The Invasion, Plate 2: England
March 8, 1756
Medium
Etching; third state of three
Dimensions
plate: 12 9/16 x 15 1/4 in. (31.9 x 38.8 cm) sheet: 13 7/16 x 16 5/16 in. (34.2 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
91.1.135
Tags
Art Historical Context
William Hogarth's *The Invasion, Plate : England* (1756) is a masterful etching from his satirical series responding to the looming threat of French invasion during the early Seven Years' War. Created amid rising Anglo-French tensions, Hogarth used his prints to rally British spirits through biting humor, poking fun at military blunders on both sides. This third-state impression captures Plate 2's chaotic English scene, alive with soldiers drilling ineptly amid civilians—men, women, and sturdy buildings—highlighting the absurdity of amateur preparations against a perceived enemy. Hogarth, a p...
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...