She finally dies at the age of 23, mourned only by her fellow prostitutes. Having contracted syphilis earlier, the disease progresses, steadily killing her. She is arrested, and ends up in London’s Bridewell Prison. Moll becomes the kept mistress of a wealthy merchant, but later slides into common prostitution. The general outline of the story is of an innocent country girl, Moll Hackabout, who comes to London, and immediately falls into the hands of a notorious brothel-keeper and madame. Tragically all the paintings were destroyed by fire when at Fonthill House in 1755, so we only have prints from which to study Hogarth’s first serially painted narrative. The six paintings from which this series is comprised were completed in 1731, and first appeared in engravings in 1732. Indeed, at the time of their production, there was no text version of their narrative available – another unusual feature, as each tells a story which is new to the viewer. Hogarth’s series of paintings were clearly never intended to accompany text narrative. There is no definitive separation, although seen from the point of view of narrative alone, I suggest the following distinction:Ī narrative painting, and series of narrative paintings, are by the artist’s intent to stand alone from any oral or written version of the narrative, possibly with the support of the painting’s title and a short excerpt of text an illustration is intended by the artist to accompany a text version of the narrative both can equally be works of art (cf. One inevitable question – particularly in view of Hogarth’s artistic origins in print-making – is whether these series are narrative paintings, or illustrations in oils. The article after that will consider those inspired by his series to tackle their own, including Augustus Leopold Egg (1816–1863) and William Powell Frith (1819-1909) in particular. ![]() The next article will examine his most famous Marriage A-la-Mode (c 1743), and the more unusual Four Times of the Day (1736). In this article, I will examine his first two series, A Harlot’s Progress (c 1731), and its compliment, A Rake’s Progress (1732-5). One of his reasons for painting was to provide a supply of original images for engraving, and all his series paintings were seen (from a commercial view, at least) as a means to producing lucrative series of prints. Many included social commentary, wit, and some overtly caricatured society. His works in oil were usually strongly narrative, showing moments of climax and sometimes peripeteia in theatrical productions or everyday life in London. Hogarth was a largely self-taught painter, having entered the world of art as a copperplate engraver in 1720. One prolific painter of narrative series, though, stands out: William Hogarth (1697–1764), who from about 1731 until 1754 painted a succession of moralising series, and his influence led several later British painters to create their own. As these were well-known narratives, such series were not particularly adventurous or novel in technique. This happened quite commonly with polyptychs, which often showed a series of scenes through the life of Christ, for example. Learn more.One solution to the problem of paintings being a singular medium for narrative, and not a serial medium like text, is to paint a formal series of works, which are then viewed in a particular order. The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Livingston Fund Reference Number 2015.216.2 IIIF Manifest Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. Status Currently Off View Department Prints and Drawings Artist William Hogarth Title Plate two, from A Harlot's Progress Place England (Artist's nationality:) Dateĭates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Because of her careless antics and seemingly boundless sexual appetite, however, Moll will soon be returned to the brothel from which she was effectively purchased. The two paintings of Old Testament scenes on the wall underscore the moral depravity of Moll’s situation. ![]() In order to allow her lover, seen hiding in the background, to escape, Moll distracts the master of the house by overturning a table and enticing him with a view of her chest. ![]() Here Hogarth’s titular harlot, Moll Hackabout, enjoys life as the mistress of a wealthy man.
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