Hudibras Triumphant (Twelve Large Illustrations for Samuel Butler's Hudibras, Plate 4)
Medium
Etching and engraving; third state of three
Dimensions
plate: 10 9/16 x 13 5/8 in. (26.8 x 34.6 cm) sheet: 11 9/16 x 14 1/2 in. (29.4 x 36.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Sarah Lazarus, 1891
Accession Number
91.1.104
Tags
Art Historical Context
William Hogarth's *Hudibras Triumphant (Plate 4 from the *Twelve Large Illustrations for Samuel Butler's Hudibr*), created between 1725 and 1768, captures the satirical spirit of Samuel Butler's 17th-century mock-heroic poem *Hudibras*. The poem lampoons Puritan zealots and the religious fervor of the English Civil War era through the bumbling knight Hudibras and his squire Ralpho. Hogarth, a master of biting social commentary, produced these prints to visually amplify Butler's wit, making the epic accessible to 18th-century audiences who relished political satire. Rendered in etching and eng...
About the Artist
William Hogarth|Samuel Butler · 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...