The Idle 'Prentice Betrayed by his Whore and Taken in a Night Cellar with his Accomplice (Industry and Idleness, plate 9)
September 30, 1747
Medium
Etching and engraving; third state of four
Dimensions
plate: 10 5/16 x 13 9/16 in. (26.2 x 34.4 cm) sheet: 10 9/16 x 13 3/4 in. (26.9 x 35 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Sarah Lazarus, 1891
Accession Number
91.1.17
Tags
Art Historical Context
William Hogarth's *The Idle 'Prentice Betrayed by his Wh and Taken in a Nightar with his Accom* is the ninth plate in his renowned 1747 series *Industry and Idleness*, set of 12 moralistic engravings contrasting the fates of two London apprentices: the virtuous, hardworking Francis Goodchild and the wayward Tom Idle. Published on September 30, 1747, this etching and engraving captures a pivotal moment in Tom's descent into crime, betrayed by his companion in a seedy underground tavern—a "night cellar"—surrounded by vice and law enforcement. Hogarth, a master satirist, used these prints to warn...
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...