William Hogarth facts for kids

For the Roman Catholic bishop, see William Hogarth (bishop). For the scuba diver William Hogarth Main, see Bill Main.

Quick facts for kids William Hogarth FRSA
William Hogarth, The Painter and his Pug, 1745. Self-portrait with his pug, Trump, in Tate Britain, London.
Born	(1697-11-10)10 November 1697 London, England
Died	26 October 1764(1764-10-26) (aged 66) London, England
Resting place	St. Nicholas's Churchyard, Church Street, Chiswick, London
Known for	Painter, engraver, satirist
Spouse(s)	Jane Thornhill

Patron(s)	Mary Edwards (1705–1743)

William Hogarth (10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was a famous English painter and engraver. He was known for his funny and critical pictures about society. His art often showed everyday life and made fun of people's bad habits.

Hogarth created series of pictures that told stories, like a comic strip. Two of his most famous series are A Rake's Progress and Marriage A-la-Mode. His style was so well-known that similar satirical drawings are sometimes called "Hogarthian."

He was born in London to a family that wasn't rich. When he was young, he started learning to be an engraver. His father faced financial difficulties and was once held in prison because of debts. This experience might have influenced William's art.

Hogarth's works were very popular and were printed many times during his life. He was one of the most important English artists of his time.

Early Life and Training

William Hogarth by Roubiliac, 1741, National Portrait Gallery, London

William Hogarth was born in London. His father, Richard Hogarth, was a teacher and writer. As a young man, William became an apprentice to an engraver named Ellis Gamble. There, he learned how to make engravings for things like business cards.

Young Hogarth loved watching the busy street life in London. He enjoyed sketching the interesting people he saw. Around this time, his father had money problems and was held in a prison for debt for five years. Hogarth never talked about this difficult time for his family.

In 1720, Hogarth started attending art schools in London. He learned alongside other artists who would become famous. He later enrolled in a drawing school run by Sir James Thornhill, a well-known painter for the king. Hogarth admired Thornhill's large paintings, like those in St Paul's Cathedral.

Becoming an Artist

By April 1720, Hogarth was working as an engraver on his own. He created engravings for coats of arms, shop signs, and book illustrations.

In 1727, a tapestry maker named Joshua Morris hired him. Morris didn't want to pay Hogarth because he thought Hogarth was only an engraver, not a painter. Hogarth took him to court and won the case.

Early Satirical Works

Hogarth's early works often made fun of society. One example is Emblematical Print on the South Sea Scheme (around 1721). This print was about a big stock market crash in 1720 called the South Sea Bubble. Many English people lost a lot of money. Hogarth's picture showed people acting foolishly by buying stock in a company that didn't do much real work.

Other early satirical works included The Lottery (1724) and A Just View of the British Stage (1724). He also made Masquerades and Operas (1724). This print made fun of popular events like masquerade balls and Italian opera singers.

Self-Portrait by Hogarth, around 1735, Yale Center for British Art.

In 1726, Hogarth created twelve large engravings for a book called Hudibras. He thought these were some of his best early works.

In the years that followed, he started painting "conversation pieces." These were oil paintings that showed groups of people in full-length portraits. Some of these paintings included The Fountaine Family (around 1730) and The Assembly at Wanstead House. He also painted scenes from a popular play called The Beggar's Opera.

One of his important works from this time shows children performing a play. It's called The Indian Emperour (1732–1735).

Other works from the 1730s include A Midnight Modern Conversation (1733) and Southwark Fair (1733). He also painted The Four Times of the Day (1738) and Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn (1738).

Moral Stories in Art

A Rake's Progress

A Rake's Progress, Plate 8, 1735, showing the main character in a mental hospital.

Between 1733 and 1735, Hogarth created one of his most famous series, A Rake's Progress. This series had eight pictures. They told the story of Tom Rakewell, a rich young man who wasted all his money on fancy living and gambling. Tom's life ends sadly in a mental hospital. The original paintings are now in the Sir John Soane's Museum in London.

Many people copied Hogarth's successful works without his permission. To stop this, Hogarth worked to get a new law passed. This law, called the Engravers' Copyright Act (1735), was the first copyright law for visual art in England. It protected artists' rights to their own work.

Marriage A-la-Mode

Marriage à-la-mode, Shortly After the Marriage (scene two of six).

Marriage à-la-mode, After the old Earl's funeral (scene four of six)

From 1743 to 1745, Hogarth painted Marriage A-la-Mode. This series of six pictures made fun of upper-class society in the 1700s. It showed the sad results of a marriage made only for money, not for love. Many people think this is one of his best works.

In the 1700s, people often debated about marriage. Many marriages were arranged for money or status, which often led to unhappiness. Hogarth's series showed this problem in a funny but serious way. The paintings tell the story of a marriage between a lord's son and a rich merchant's daughter. All the paintings were later made into prints, so many people saw them.

Industry and Idleness

Industry and Idleness Plate 1, The Fellow 'Prentices at their Looms

In the twelve prints of Industry and Idleness (1747), Hogarth showed the different paths of two apprentices. One apprentice works hard and is dedicated. The other is lazy and gets into trouble. The hard-working apprentice becomes successful, even becoming the Lord Mayor of London. The lazy apprentice ends up facing serious consequences for his crimes.

For each print, Hogarth included a Bible verse, mostly from the Book of Proverbs. For example, for the first plate, it says: "The hand of the diligent maketh rich."

Portraits

David Garrick as Richard III, 1745

Hogarth was also a popular portrait painter. In 1745, he painted the famous actor David Garrick as Richard III. He was paid a lot of money for this painting. In 1746, he drew a sketch of Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, which was very popular.

Portrait of a Man, 1741

In 1740, he painted a truthful portrait of his friend, Captain Thomas Coram. This painting is now in the Foundling Museum. Another famous portrait is his unfinished sketch of a young fishwoman, called The Shrimp Girl. He also painted portraits of his wife, his sisters, and other important people.

Historical Paintings

For a while, Hogarth tried to become known as a "history painter." This meant painting large scenes from history or the Bible. However, he didn't get much respect in this area. Other famous artists, like Joshua Reynolds, criticized his style for these types of paintings.

Biblical Scenes

Hogarth's history paintings include The Pool of Bethesda and The Good Samaritan. He painted these for St Bartholomew's Hospital. He also painted Moses brought before Pharaoh's Daughter for the Foundling Hospital (1747).

The Gate of Calais

The Gate of Calais (1748) was painted after Hogarth visited France. In this painting, he showed the French people in a way that made fun of them. He showed them as thin and superstitious. In contrast, a large piece of beef arrives for an English inn, symbolizing British wealth and strength. Hogarth even painted himself in the picture, sketching the gate.

Other Later Works

Eva Marie Veigel and husband David Garrick, c. 1757–1764, Royal Collection at Windsor Castle

Other important engravings from the 1740s include The Enraged Musician (1741).

In 1745, Hogarth painted a self-portrait with his pug dog, Trump. This painting shows him as a smart artist, surrounded by books by famous writers like Shakespeare. In 1749, he painted March of the Guards to Finchley, which showed English soldiers in a somewhat messy way.

His later works also included Satire on False Perspective (1754), which made fun of bad drawing techniques. He also created his Election series (1755–1758), which satirized how elections were run. Other works included The Cockpit (1759), which criticized cockfighting, and Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism (1762), which satirized certain religious practices. His last work was Tailpiece, or The Bathos (1764), which showed a pessimistic view of things.

In 1757, Hogarth was given the important title of Serjeant Painter to the King.

Writing About Art

Hogarth also wrote a book about his ideas on art called The Analysis of Beauty (1753). In this book, he explained his ideas about what makes things beautiful and graceful. He believed that wavy, serpentine lines were especially beautiful. Some people praised his book, while others made fun of it.

Artist of Modern Moral Subjects

Hogarth lived at a time when art was becoming more available to everyone. People could see art in shop windows, pubs, and public buildings. Hogarth had a new idea: to paint and engrave "modern moral subjects." He said his pictures were like a stage, and he was telling a story.

He was inspired by Dutch paintings that showed everyday life and by English satirical prints. Before Hogarth, English fine art didn't have much comedy. His prints were expensive at first, but later reprints made them available to more people.

Borrowing from Older Art

Hogarth sometimes used ideas from older famous artworks in a new way. For example, he based some of his prints on images by the artist Albrecht Dürer. He also made fun of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper in some works. Hogarth was a Deist, meaning he believed God created the universe but didn't directly interfere in people's lives. Because of this, he often made fun of old-fashioned religious art. He also preferred to paint real, living people rather than trying to copy ancient Greek statues.

Personal Life

St Mary on Paddington Green Church, London. William Hogarth and Jane Thornhill eloped here in 1729.

On March 23, 1729, Hogarth secretly married Jane Thornhill. Her father, Sir James Thornhill, didn't approve at first because Hogarth wasn't very famous yet.

Jane-Thornhill-Mrs.-William-Hogarth-Holding-a-Portrait-William-Hogarth-oil-painting

A William Hogarth portrait of Jane

However, when Sir James saw some of Hogarth's new moral prints, he was impressed. He said that anyone who could create such art could certainly support a wife. He soon became more accepting and got along well with the couple.

Hogarth was also a Freemason. He designed a special jewel for his lodge's Master to wear. Freemasonry appeared as a theme in some of his art, like in his series Four Times of the Day.

William Hogarth's house in Chiswick

Hogarth's main home was in Leicester Square in London. In 1749, he bought a country house in Chiswick. This house is now known as Hogarth's House and is a museum. He spent time there for the rest of his life.

William and Jane Hogarth did not have their own children. However, they helped care for children from the Foundling Hospital. Hogarth was one of the people who helped start this hospital for abandoned children.

He had many friends who were also artists and writers, including Henry Fielding and Laurence Sterne.

Death

The Bathos, 1764 - His final work

William Hogarth died at his home in Leicester Fields on October 26, 1764.

Tomb of William and Jane Hogarth in Chiswick

He was buried at St. Nicholas Church, Chiswick, in west London. His friend, the actor David Garrick, wrote a poem for his tombstone. The poem praises Hogarth as a great painter who used his art to teach morals and touch people's hearts.

Influence and Legacy

Hogarth's art had a big impact on other artists. His prints were spread across Europe and influenced book illustrations in Germany and France. He also inspired many cartoonists and satirists for centuries. Even today, artists still find inspiration in his work.

Hogarth's paintings and prints have been used as ideas for other works of art. For example, a ballet called The Rake's Progress (1935) was based on his series of paintings. An opera with the same name by Igor Stravinsky (1951) was also inspired by his work.

Hogarth's House in Chiswick is now a museum. A major road junction nearby is named the Hogarth Roundabout. In 2014, both Hogarth's House and the Foundling Museum had special exhibitions to celebrate 250 years since his death.

In 2019, Sir John Soane's Museum held an exhibition that brought together all of Hogarth's painting series and engraving series for the first time.

The movie Barry Lyndon (1975) used Hogarth's paintings as inspiration for its look. In the movie The Mother (2003), the main characters visit Hogarth's tomb. They read the poem there, and their shared admiration for Hogarth helps them connect.