The Seraglio (Aubry de La Mottraye, Travels throughout Europe, Asia and into Part of Africa..., London, 1724, vol. I, pl. 18)
Medium
Etching and engraving; second state of two
Dimensions
sheet: 10 x 13 3/4 in. (25.4 x 34.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.2838
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the exotic world of 18th-century Europe with *The Seraglio*, a etching and engraving from Aubry de La Mottr's 1724 travelogue *Travels throughout Europe, Asia and into of Africa*. Created between 1723 and 1724, this second-state print—measuring a modest 10 x 13¾ inches—was masterfully engraved by William Hogarth, the renowned British artist known for his satirical genius, after an original painting by Jean Baptiste Vanmour, court painter to the Ottoman sultans. It vividly captures a lively seraglio scene bustling with men and women dancing amid musical instruments, offering European ...
About the Artist
William Hogarth|Aubry de La Mottraye|Jean Baptiste Vanmour · 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...