William Hogarth

This is a concise and extremely well written summary of Hogarth and his times, containing many insights into 18th century cultural history. This was a time in which social critics and "self-help" authors were beginning to take over some of the authority formerly held by the church on moral issues, and Hogarth was in the vanguard of those attempting to illustrate how personal liberty if unchecked by good behavior could descend into licentiousness and ruin. Among other interesting topics covered are Hogarth's feelings about the British class system (having risen from modest origins through an apprenticeship as a silver engraver to fame and fortune as an artist and printmaker), his sympathy for the lower classes, and his antipathy to the artistic establishment which overvalued trite and derivative Continental art on religious and mythological themes.

This is a fascinating, well-written and well-researched look at William Hogarth's art, life and ideas. It is arranged thematically rather than chronologically, and includes nice reproductions of a sampling of Hogarth's work (although the sizes of some of the images are small). The author includes a very refreshing common sense in his interpretations of Hogarth's motives, with a good, clear understanding of the 18th-Century British context in which Hogarth lived and worked.