A Rake's Progress, Plate 2

Art Historical Context

**A Rake's Progress, Plate 2** is the second installment in William Hogarth's iconic 1735 series of satirical prints, a moralistic narrative tracing the downfall of a dissolute young heir. Created in collaboration with Dr. John Hoadley and engraver Gérard Jean-Baptiste Scotin, this etching and engraving captures a lively morning "levée"—a fashionable reception—buzzing with musicians, men, and women. Dated June 25, 1735, it's the fourth and final state, likely refined for sharper detail and broader distribution, measuring about 14 x 16 inches on its plate. Hogarth, a pioneering British artist, masterfully blends etching's fluid lines with engraving's precision to depict 18th-century London's excesses. The scene teems with musical instruments, symbolizing the rake's indulgence amid sycophants, critiquing the vanity and fleeting pleasures of the elite. This print, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Mrs. Carl Joseph Ulmann, 1929), exemplifies Hogarth's "modern moral subjects," accessible yet biting commentaries that scandalized and educated the public. Its cultural punch endures: Hogarth's sequential storytelling influenced comics and graphic novels, while the vivid social satire remains a window into Georgian England's hedonism and hypocrisy. A must-see for understanding art's power to provoke!

About the Artist

William Hogarth|Dr. John Hoadley|Gérard Jean-Baptiste Scotin · 1697–1764

William Hogarth (1697-1764) was an English painter, printmaker, and pictorial satirist who became the first great English-born artist to attract admiration abroad. Born into poverty in London, the son of a failed schoolmaster who was imprisoned for debt, Hogarth's early experiences with the harsh realities of 18th-century urban life profoundly shaped his artistic vision. After apprenticing with si...