A Harlot's Progress, Plate 4 by William Hogarth

Artwork details

Medium
drawing, graphic-art, print, engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 12 5/16 x 15 1/8 in. (31.3 x 38.4 cm)
Location
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Copyright
Public Domain

Tags

#drawing#graphic-art#narrative-art#baroque#print#genre-painting#engraving

About this artwork

William Hogarth made this engraving, "A Harlot's Progress, Plate 4," which is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to depict a scene of 18th-century London life. Hogarth’s series of engravings are known for their narrative quality. Here, we see a room full of women involved in various stages of labor, while the main figure, the harlot, is being disciplined. The setting itself—a workhouse—speaks to the socio-economic conditions of the time, where poverty often led women into prostitution as a means of survival, and into institutions like this one. Hogarth’s work operates within a complex social and moral framework. The artwork, although intending to serve as a cautionary tale, also exposes the harsh realities and limited options available to women, and thus offers us a glimpse into the gendered dimensions of poverty and survival in 18th century London.

Comments

Share your thoughts