2 weeks Ago
Who was William Hogarth? He was born in 1697, in Bartholomew Close, near Smithfield, London. At the time, it was home to the Bartholomew Fair which was a cloth and meat market also known for its entertainment. Undoubtedly, this affected the young William Hogarth and influenced his later works.
Hogarth went on to become a painter, engraver and writer. He is also known for his satirical social commentary in the form of his “cartoons” which exposed notables to public scrutiny since they portrayed them with exaggerated features in sometimes absurd situations. Hogarth also drew London life in its darkest form with perhaps his most famous work, Gin Lane, which was paired with Beer Street in support of the Gin Acts.
Today, without any background it must seem strange or indeed objectionable that a government should interfere in general life but society was different back then. For centuries, people drank beer instead of water due to the later often being polluted. Gin, however, caused The Gin Craze amongst the poor and the government initially took responsibility for it in 1734 following three gruesome case of Judith Defour, who strangled her two-year-old son and sold his clothes for gin money.
Drinking raw spirits was considered the major cause of London’s crime rate. Hogarth supported the Gin Act of 1751 which aimed to stop gin distillers from selling it to unlicensed merchants. By charging higher fees for licenses, it curtailed small gin shops, which by effect helped reduce consumption.
As the old saying goes, “Gin, gin will make you sin!” Another famous painting later released as an engraving is A Midnight Modern Conversation. The original is in Petworth House in West Sussex. I used to share space in Petworth with Paul Martin and visited the painting several times.
I first came across a painting of it in the Denis Severs House in Spitalfields and subsequently discovered it had been copied dozens of times. Although Hogarth never named the characters portrayed, it’s thought that one is a bare-knuckle boxer felled by alcohol but never in the ring and a Bishop who preached temperance yet is clearly drunk. It was originally printed in red ink and is set in St John's Coffee House in Shire Lane, Temple Bar, London.
Coffee and Chocolate houses were home to illicit club meetings and were often a den of political and financial intrigue. I wonder what satirical imagery Hogarth would have made of the roundabout that bears his name today, that bottleneck of traffic streaming into London from the M4. His former home is set just along from Chiswick House.
At a slight angle to the road it’s open to the public, Tuesday to Sunday afternoons. It remained his home from 1749 until he died in 1764. Hogarth created sets of prints, telling stories, such as A Harlot’s Progress and Marriage-a-La-mode.
The dark humour of decline was pivotal in his work He lived through a time of social change and upheaval and indeed, the Jacobite uprising of 1745, industrialisation and a population that doubled. He was the commentator of a generation if not a century and it has to be said that with illiteracy the norm, Hogarth’s works were visual and educational. They exposed both human failings and corruption, whilst humanising the elite through mockery.
Hogarth is held in high esteem to this day and in 2001 a statue was unveiled by David Hockney on Chiswick High Road, west London, of William and his pug dog. Funding for it was raised by and it’s heartwarming to see William Hogarth overlooking his old stomping ground with his beloved dog. His work was printed and reprinted throughout the 18th Century and thereafter, all over the world.
I have 30 Hogarth prints in stock; all unframed and a Hogarth homage by Sir Peter Blake for sale too. Hogarth was an extraordinary talent who continues to amuse and entertain more than 250 years after his death. Who is Andrew Blackall? Andrew Blackall is an English antique dealer with more than 30 years of experience selling period furniture and quirky collector's items to clients across the globe.
He has written and produced award-winning film and television productions. He was born in St John’s Wood, London and he grew up in and around London. He currently lives in Avebury, Wiltshire.
His love of antiques stems from an early fascination with history and from visiting country homes throughout old England and the British Isles. Many of Andrew’s clients are well known on both sides of the pond, patronising his ability to source antiquities with provenance and appeal. His stock has appeared in a number of films and TV shows.
Andrew has two styles of business: one selling high-end decorative antiques at The Blanchard Collective, the other selling affordable collectables at The Malthouse Collective..
