Cruelty in Perfection (The Four Stages of Cruelty)
February 1, 1751
Medium
Etching and engraving; only state
Dimensions
plate: 15 1/4 x 12 11/16 in. (38.8 x 32.2 cm) sheet: 15 13/16 x 13 3/16 in. (40.2 x 33.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Sarah Lazarus, 1891
Accession Number
91.1.138
Tags
About the Artist
William Hogarth · 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...