Hudibras and the Skimmington (Twelve Large Illustrations for Samuel Butler's Hudibras, Plate 7)
February 1725–26
Medium
Engraving; second state of three
Dimensions
sheet: 10 9/16 x 20 in. (26.9 x 50.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1932
Accession Number
32.35(141)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the satirical world of 18th-century England with *Hudibras and the Skimmington*, Plate from William Hogarth's twelve large for Samuel Butler's mock-heroic poem *Hudibras*. Created between February 1725 and 1726, this engraving captures a chaotic scene from Butler's 1660s verse, which lampooned Puritan hypocrisy and fanaticism through the bumbling knight Hudibras. Hogarth, a master of biting social commentary in the Rococo era, designed the composition, with engravings executed by John Cooper and Philip Overton—highlighting the collaborative printmaking process of the time. In this ...
About the Artist
John Cooper|Philip Overton|William Hogarth|Samuel Butler (British|British|British|British) · 1700 |1700 |1697 |1580 –1744 |1800 |1764 |1680
British, active from 1707, died 1744|London|British, London 1697–1764 London|British, baptized Strensham, Worcestershire 1613–1680 Covent Garden