In Focus: Hogarth

Excellent online lecture from the National Gallery on the life and career of William Hogarth.

In the first half of this two hour talk Matthew Morgan, the director of The Turner’s House Museum, took us though the life of this 18th century artist with an emphasis on his portraits, etching series and paintings. He discussed some of the themes in his work such as establishing a British identity and social concerns.

In the second half he went through the Marriage a la Mode series of paintings in the National Gallery in detail outlining the details, the symbolism and the moral message behind them. I thought I knew these works well but he pointed out things I had never noticed before such as the fact that the paintings on the wall add another layer of meaning. I will look at them differently in the future.

 

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