The plain fact that it's a piece of exaggerated moralistic tosh is never mentioned One wonders why this should be. Famous from that day to this, The Rake's Progress is regarded as a classic of British art. First he's a young heir, then he's surrounded by the wrong people; he drinks, gambles, is placed in debtor's prison and finally is seen naked and dying in Bedlam Once again the series, when engraved, was a huge success. This time the idea was to follow the fortunes of an upper- class miscreant. I doubt if these paintings will be given much of a role in this year's Hogarthography, but we'll see.) Anyway, the point is that Hogarth decided that he could pursue the prostitute through a series, recounting events from a country girl's arrival in London to her life as the mistress of a rich man (he is Jewish, Hogarth is at pains to point out, and his servant is a black boy), and thence to her downfall and death.The Rake's Progress is less disagreeable in tone and translates well to engraving. (The idea was not far from two pairs of canvases, all four now in America, recording seductions They are rather indecent, and very French-influenced. Hogarth had started with a single picture of a prostitute getting out of bed at noon.

A Harlot's Progress, the earlier series, did not begin in such a way. The plates comprising A Harlot's Progress and The Rake's Progress are fussy as well as moralistic. The more detail, the more there would be in a picture for someone to "read".Hence, inevitably, the tendency to include more detail than the picture or engraving could take. Furthermore, the process of engraving would sharpen the outlines that he couldn't get right with his brush Detail would be added and made more telling.

Then he saw that his illustrations could be engraved and issued separately, or as an album He could make a book. Hogarth immediately twigged that he could illustrate this contemporary success. More important than Shakespeare, for Hogarth's purposes, was John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. It's a jolly picture, not least because Hogarth - for the only time in his career - is not intent on the moral criticism of his main character. This was his invention.An early theatrical subject was Falstaff Examining his Recruits. Hogarth's brand of history painting was imaginary contemporary theatre, and therefore closer to a popular audience.