Le Libertin à Bedlam 1734

William Hogarth painted “Le Libertin à Bedlam,” offering us a chilling view into the infamous Bedlam Hospital. Hogarth’s work emerged in a period of immense social change in England, marked by the rise of a commercial society and evolving notions of morality and class. Here, Hogarth confronts us with the spectacle of mental illness, but it’s not just about the mad; it’s about those who come to gawk. The painting critiques the voyeuristic tendencies of the wealthy, who would visit Bedlam for entertainment, turning the suffering of others into a form of amusement. Note the contrast between the well-dressed visitors and the stark reality of the patients. Hogarth challenges the conventional representation of sanity and madness by questioning the sanity of the supposedly sane. Hogarth invites us to reflect on our own humanity, asking whether we are truly separate from those we deem ‘other’ or ‘mad’, and to consider who benefits from such divisions.