William Hogarth, Moses Brought Before Pharaoh’s Daughter, 1746

William Hogarth and Luke Sullivan, Moses Brought to Pharoah’s Daughter, 1752-62

Hogarth’s painting was painted for and hung in the Foundling Hospital, a children’s home founded in 1741 by philanthropist and sea captain Thomas Coram. Several engraved versions of the painting exist, however this one was done by Luke Sullivan, who worked as a workshop assistant to Hogarth.

William Hogarth, 1754-55, An Election: Canvassing for Votes

William Hogarth, 1740, Captain Thomas Coram

This was painted the year before Coram established the Foundling Hospital for abandoned and vulnerable children in London. Coram’s career as a sea captain, and as a trader of timber between England and America, is represented by both the globe at his feet and the glimpse of a seascape background.

William Hogarth, c.1743-45, Marriage a la Mode series: (L-R) The Marriage Settlement, The Tete a Tete, The Inspection, The Toilette, The Bagnio, The Lady’s Death

From the National Gallery:

‘Marriage A-la-Mode’ was the first of Hogarth’s satirical moralising series of engravings that took the upper echelons of society as its subject. The paintings were models from which the engravings would be made. The engravings reverse the compositions.

The story starts in the mansion of the Earl Squander who is arranging to marry his son to the daughter of a wealthy but mean city merchant. It ends with the murder of the son and the suicide of the daughter.

I would recommend heading to the National Gallery online collection pages for this series, where you will find full descriptions of each Marriage a la Mode scene. There is also a short sound clip from historian Amanda Vickery.

ART TIMELINE: 1740

A Regatta on the Grand Canal by Canaletto, 1740: landscape art, Baroque

Captain Thomas Coram by William Hogarth, 1740: portraiture

The Triumph of Venus by Francois Boucher, 1740: Rococo

The Painter and his Pug by William Hogarth, 1745

From the Tate: Hogarth first began this self-portrait in the mid-1730s. X-rays have revealed that, at this stage, it showed the artist in a formal coat and wig. Later, however, he changed these to the more informal cap and clothes seen here. The oval canvas containing Hogarth’s self-portrait appears propped up on volumes of Shakespeare, Swift and Milton, authors who inspired Hogarth’s own commitment to drama, satire and epic poetry. Hovering above the surface of his palette is the ‘Line of Beauty and Grace’, which underpinned Hogarth’s own theories on art. Hogarth’s pug dog, Trump, whose features resemble his, serves as an emblem of the artist’s own pugnacious character.

A Harlot’s Progress by William Hogarth, 1732

This series of engravings (and lost painted versions) by the fascinating William Hogarth depicts the journey and tragic end of Moll Hackabout, the country girl who moved to the city of London and became a prostitute. From top to bottom, left to right, we have:

Plate I: Moll arrives in London and engages with the owner of a brothel, though she was probably looking for work as a seamstress originally. The scene is quite chaotic and shows the dark seedy side of city life.

Plate II: Moll has become the mistress of a Jewish merchant. However here she is shown trying to distract him as her secret lover escapes out of the room. Her promiscuity is really in full swing!

Plate III: Moll’s life has become even more sordid. Each scene becomes more and more involved in her life as a harlot and her obvious deterioration.

Plate IV: As her situation becomes increasingly desperate, Moll ends up working at Bridewell Prison. She is shown beating hemp for nooses.

Plate V: Moll is dying of syphilis, a common disease in the world of prostitutes and their customers. As she suffers and is attended to by doctors, people around her are shown looting her belongings.

Plate VI: Moll has died at the tender age of just 23. The drinking and sexual flirtations shown in the final scene epitomise Moll’s demise, as well as indicating the carelessness of humans.