| Method | Copper engraving and etching |
| Artist | William Hogarth |
| Published | Price One Shilling. Design'd and Engrav'd by W. Hogarth - Publish'd According to Act of Parliament 1747. [J & J Boydell c.1795] |
| Dimensions | Image 207 x 298 mm, Plate 218 x 309 mm, Sheet 300 x 475 mm |
| Notes |
A view of a galleried courtyard, with stagecoach and crowds, at the 'Old Angle In' at the time of a General Election in 1747. To the left of the scene, a rotund woman sells refreshments from a round stall, clanging a bell and shouting to attract the attention of the crowds. Above her, two drunks hang out of the Inn's first floor window, one blasting a trumpet while the other smokes his pipe. A stagecoach below them is preparing to leave, a very large-bottomed woman being helped, or pushed, into the cab. Two wastrels sit above the cab and an old woman merrily puffs her pipe while hunkered down in the baggage rack between the coach's rear wheels. To the right, a guard-dog sleeps in its kennel, unperturbed by the commotion of the stagecoach's departure or the riotous election crowd in the background. William Hogarth (1697 - 1764) was born in London, the son of an unsuccessful schoolmaster and writer from Westmoreland. After apprenticeship to a goldsmith, he began to produce his own engraved designs in about 1710. He later took up oil painting, starting with small portrait groups called conversation pieces. He went on to create a series of paintings satirising contemporary customs, but based on earlier Italian prints, of which the first was The Harlot's Progress (1731), and perhaps the most famous The Rake's Progress. His engravings were so plagiarised that he lobbied for the Copyright Act of 1735, commonly referred to as 'Hogarth's Act,' as a protection for writers and artists. During the 1730s Hogarth also developed into an original painter of life-sized portraits, and created the first of several history paintings in the grand manner. Paulson 167 iii/iv, BM Satires 2882 Condition: Excellent impression. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £180.00 |
| Stock ID | 38041 |