William Hogarth - Hudibras & the Lawyer (1802)

Title: Hudibras and the Lawyer

Artist: William Hogarth (1697-1764)

Engraver: Thomas Cook (1744-1818)

Year of printing: 1802

Origin: London, United Kingdom

Technique: Original copper-engraving on woven paper

Size (inc. mat): 45 x 50 cm

Size image: 26.3 x 34 cm

Professionally matted in acid-free museum quality mat-board, one margin short, sharp impression.

Artist: William Hogarth (1697-1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. As an artist, Hogarth was known as a well-established portrait-painter. However, he became mostly famous as a cartoonist who (through designing and publishing prints) mocked 18th century current affairs through "modern moral subjects" depicted in a humorous / satirical way. During Hogarth's time, art became more commercialised and through the distribution / publishing of prints more accessible to a general audience. In England, the fine arts had little comedy in them before Hogarth. Hogarth's idea was: "painting and engraving modern moral subjects... to treat my subjects as a dramatic writer, my picture was my stage". Most of Hogarth's designs were re engraved by Thomas Cook (1744-1818). Cook was an English engraver and pupil of Simon Francois Ravenet. He was employed by George and John Robinson from 1795 untill 1803 to newly engrave the designs which was sold as William Hogarth's complete works.

Technique: The technique used for this print is copper-engraving. After an artist made a drawing, an engraver would that image (reversed) on a copperplate and would engrave all the details of that image in that plate. After this, ink would be applied on the plate and immediately whipped of the surface, leaving only ink in the grooves. The plate was then placed under a press with a piece of paper on top. After pressing, the ink from the grooves would remain on the paper creating the image.

Depiction: Hogarth depicts knight Hudibras' visit to a lawyer who encourages him to write a letter to the woman he is courting. Hudibras is a poem on the popular figure of the "heroic knight" and was written by Samuel Butler. Butler used his past experience in law to satirise the lawyer. Hogarth visualised this by depicting a robed and wigged lawyer sitting in his office like a king on his throne. Hogarth's engravings of Butler's satirical epic summarises the social and political environment in the United Kingdom.