The Invasion, Plate 1: France
March 8, 1756
Medium
Etching and engraving; third state of three
Dimensions
plate: 12 1/2 x 15 1/2 in. (31.7 x 39.3 cm) sheet: 13 3/16 x 16 5/16 in. (33.5 x 41.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Sarah Lazarus, 1891
Accession Number
91.1.134
Tags
Art Historical Context
William Hogarth's *The Invasion, Plate : France* (1756) is a biting satirical print from the British artist's renowned series responding to fears of a French invasion at the outset of the Seven Years' War. Created amid rising Anglo-French tensions, this etching and engraving captures the chaos of imagined enemy preparations through exaggerated caricature, a hallmark of Hogarth'sistic and patriotic style. As Plate 1 of two, it mocks French military pomp with soldiers, firearms, blazing fires, a prominent cross, and looming ships, blending humor with propaganda to rally British spirit. Printed ...
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...