Hudibras and Sidrophel, plate eight from Hudibras
February 1725/26
Medium
Etching and engraving in black on cream paper edge, mounted on cream wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 24.2 × 34.6 cm (9 9/16 × 13 5/8 in.); Plate: 27.1 × 35.7 cm (10 11/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Primary support: 27.3 × 35.5 cm (10 3/4 × 14 in.); Secondary support: 36.1 × 47.5 cm (14 1/4 × 18 3/4 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
184613
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Hudibras, a satirical narrative poem akin to Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote, was written by the English poet and author Samuel Butler during the second half of the 17th century. The text mocks the Puritan movement and the political atmosphere surrounding the English Civil War (1641–51). Intended to ridicule the extravagances of the Puritans, the story follows the bumbling, ne’er-do-well knight Hudibras and his squire on their quest to do right. In this scene, Hudibras visits the astrologer Si...
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...