Tate Britain

7 th February – 29 April 2007

‘Shakespeare, who had the deepest penetration into nature, has sum'd up all the charms of beauty in two words – INFINITE VARIETY.' William Hogarth

Ever an advocate of diversity, William Hogarth (1697-1764) was just as well known for his paintings and portraiture as he was for his popular etchings and engravings. The theme of diversity is apparent from the way in which this 200-piece exhibition is arranged.

There are ten rooms in all with earlier ones housing engravings, etchings and prints, as well as a copy of the artist's personal manifesto, The Analysis of Beauty (1752) in which he elaborates on the merits of variety over set standards. Self-portraits lend additional insight into the artists' vision of himself. Subsequent rooms contain some of Hogarth's most acclaimed portraits, as well as several history paintings and fine examples of his noted ‘Modern Moral Subjects', amongst them Marriage a la Mode , The Harlot's Progress , The Rake's Progress and the ‘Four Stages of Cruelty', all of which would seem to have inspired ‘tell it like it is' artists and illustrators ever since. Amongst this grouping are the distinctive etchings, Gin Lane and its companion piece, Beer Street , (1751) two detailed images extolling the evils of alcohol, which had a direct influence on the passing of the Gin Act of the same year, which he and close friend Henry Fielding had vigorously lobbied for.

William Hogarth

Marriage A-la-Mode: The Tete a Tete 1735

© The National Gallery, London

However, Hogarth had always been an activist for beneficial change. For he was also largely responsible for the passing of the Engraver's Copyright Act, which came into law in 1735, the same year in which he founded a second St. Martin's Lane Academy of Painting. And he was one of the founding governors of London's Foundling Hospital. Chief patron Thomas Coram's distinguished portrait is displayed here.

Theatre was an important aspect of Hogarth's world as well, both as entertainment and as a source of inspiration for his art. His series The Beggar's Opera (1728-31) depicts, not only the protagonists of the drama itself, but also the dramas enacted within the theatrical environment. Hogarth was also responsible for one of the earliest surviving paintings of a subject from Shakespeare, Falstaff Examining His Recruits (1730). David Garrick, one of the most famous actors of his day was a good friend of the artist's, and included in the exhibition are two well-known portraits of him, one in the guise of an actor, the other painted near the end of Hogarth's life, as husband and family man. Perhaps it was the diversity of Garrick's roles, which so fascinated him.

Hogarth worked freelance as an artist before the term was invented, taking out adverts in newspapers for his latest etchings, independently selling in the case of The Harlot's Progress, 1, 200 sets. However, as more financially challenged enthusiasts of his art could not afford the one-shilling price of his prints, the artist devised cheaper means (via wood cuts) of circulating his work.

Ever the non-conformist, during the course of his long career Hogarth made it one of his missions to devise means of elevating ‘low' subject matter into high art, just as he had instilled a more naturalistic everyday tone into portraiture. The Shrimp Girl is an example of the former, as the pleasing countenance of a humble fish seller is captured seemingly, as she passes him in the street.

Hogarth

TheShrimp Girl c. 1740-50

Oil on Canvas

63.5 x 52.5 cm

Hogarth was always out there, walking the streets of London, amongst its people. He was not however, an advocate of the hypocrisies of ‘polite society.' Far from being stagnant, His art is one which often encapsulates events on the brink of occurring, as in the case of O, The Roast Beef of OldEngland (The Gates of Calais) (1748) , in which the artist can be seen sketching to the left of the Calais Gate prior to being arrested as a spy for drawing it, a charge he later managed to refute.

This thoughtfully arranged exhibition offers viewers with a rare glimpse, courtesy of Hogarth's ever-observant eye, of 18 th century London, with all of its variances intact. It is often said that art has three possible capabilities: to teach, to shock and/or to surprise. If that is the case, then Hogarth the artist and Hogarth the exhibition have succeeded on all counts.

£10 (£8 concesssions)

Free for Tate Members

Book online at http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/hogarth/tickets.shtm

or call 020 7887 8888