Hogarth

This little gem is a find, if you happen to like Hogarth. It gives you enough of the biographical and historical arc to provide a context for his work, and admirably unfolds the art for the reader. Since Hogarth's work was often social commentary, this book gives you the background a modern reader needs to understand the visual allusions that are so plentiful. Faithful reprints of his art with good detail make your exploration easier. As this is also not a newly released book, the copies can to be found at very reasonable prices. In that I love Hogarth's work, especially his sense of humor--and face it, even though there is a teaching/moralistic aspect to his approach, some of our human idiosyncrasies are presented in ways that simply make you smile--this book was an excellent purchase.