Hogarth: The Failed Artist Finds Sucess

 

Early Eighteenth Century Art: Post # 8

I decided to do my research on William Hogarth the prolific British satirist and the first of his narrative cycles, The Harlot’s Progress, particularly the first scenes.

William Hogarth (1697-1764) started his career as an artist trying to work his way into portraiture of the English aristocracy.  He failed at this and never gained their favor though some of his portrait work still exists and he shows no lack of skills and talents.  He did some historical works and designed silverware patterns with a high class market in mind.   It seems even early on his associations with printmakers and artists of a satirical bent hurt his chances.  He tended to show up at the wrong places and say the wrong things and he was too obviously trying to promote himself in ways which came across as exploitive and probably were.   He illustrated John Gay’s A Beggar’s Opera in about 1728 which satirized all classes, particularly the aristocrats and began his own moralistic narrative cycle The Harlot’s Progress in about 1731.  This series was still aimed at a higher class patron as it doesn’t overtly ridicule the aristocracy; Hogarth still had hope of gaining a patron of this class at this point.

Hogarth may have fallen into visual narratives by accident; The Harlot’s Progress is said to have started with Scene III, The Arrest of the Harlot by Sir Johnson.  This scene originally depicted a woman getting out of her bed at about noon, as shown by her pocket watch, while her maid poured the tea.  This composition was a stand-alone piece which moralized about temperance and the lack thereof.  A woman pouring liquid from one vessel to another has been a temperance symbol since ancient times and the late riser, symbolizing luxury, is its opposite.  The gentlemen coming in through the door were a later modification to the piece to pair it with part II.  It was suggested that Hogarth make a companion piece for scene III, so he did and that piece became Scene II, The Harlot Deceiving her Jewish Protector.   In this scene the Harlot is having her maid sneak her young lover out past her protector.  In the background of this scene are lavish furnishings and painted masterworks as opposed to Scene III where the background is more tawdry.  The Harlot has fallen in the world.  Scene II and Scene III are now a pair of before/after vignettes of vice and its consequences.  Scene I shows the arrival of the Harlot as an innocent country girl coming to the city.  The other three scenes present the Harlot's redemption, death and funeral.

Since these engravings showed every indication of becoming popular Hogarth hit upon the money-making idea of selling subscriptions to this series of prints and made the prints himself because he couldn’t find a printer willing to take on the project because they would have to deal with him.   This ended up to be in his favor since he didn’t have to share the profits.   The narrative format works something like a soap opera or a play, the subscriber gets to follow the story as new episodes or acts come out and to find out how it will end they have to buy the whole series.  The Harlot’s Progress has six parts in its final form and was very popular.  Hogarth produced The Rake’s Progress series as a Male counterpart of the Harlot a few years later (1735), the series Marriage a la Mode in 1743-1745 and other moralist series as well.  Besides making prints of his moral narratives he also usually did one or more painted versions  to sell to wealthier customers.  Note I call them customers and not patrons, he became so popular with the middle class that he found that he didn’t need  patronage from the aristocracy.  Of course, he still painted the occasional portrait until about 1745 but since his prints and associated paintings sold well he didn’t need any particular patron.  Like Dürer in the sixteenth century he had effectively found a was to put himself outside the regular system of Artistic hierarchy by finding his own niche.  Of  course, he likely enjoyed satirizing those who had rejected him in the past.

Works Cited

Godby, Michael. “The First Steps of Hogarth’s Harlot’s Progress.” Art History 10 (1987): 23-37.

Stokstad M and Cothrin M.  Art History: Eighteenth toTwenty-First Century Art (Portable Edition).  Boston:  Prentice Hall, 2011: 920-921.

  If you have an appetite for antique satire many of Hogarth’s works and the Harlot series can be seen on ArtStor at: (http://library.artstor.org.ezp.lib.cwu.edu/library#3│search│6│All20collections3A20Hogarth) 

A Tale of Two Davids

Post 7: Baroque Art- Comparison of Michelangelo’s and Bernini’s David

Michelangelo was obviously echoing Classical sculpture in his representation of David (1501-1504) and following the Renaissance ideal of humanism in that his human potential is realized in his heroism.  David is so close to the Classical model that he could have represented a Roman god if he was made in ancient times.  His David stands contrapposto with the natural weight shift of a human body standing at rest on one leg, the other knee bent and one shoulder slightly higher than the other.  David wears the inwardly focused expression of one contemplating a great deed, perhaps a feat beyond his strength, and yet one he is determined to perform.  He is not emotionless but he is reserved and composed. The figure shows the idealized form of a young man yet David’s proportions are realistically sculpted except for his overlarge hands as this sculpture was meant to be seen from a greater distance than the close quarters where it ended up being displayed.  The balanced figure shows the ideal visual harmony valued both in the Renaissance and in classical times.   This sculpture was so beloved by the Florentines that they couldn’t stand to put it atop the pediment of the cathedral that it had been intended to grace and was kept at a street level for better viewing.

Bernini’s David shows all the drama that makes the Baroque era a favorite with art lovers.  His David’s stance is twisted- caught in mid aim and stepping forward into the space of the viewer.  It might be said he is in a very exaggerated contrapposto stance.  The Renaissance and Classical proportions are still there in the naturalism, and the humanism is evident in a subject who will be victorious in spite of overwhelming odds.  The visual harmony of this piece is in the twisted composition that makes the viewer want to proceed around the piece instead of looking at it from a strictly frontal view.  (It could be said that the drama is in conflict with the visual harmony of the piece, or that the drama adds to it, as a matter of opinion.)  The figure is caught in motion and makes the viewer want to move as well.  Bernini’s David displays the determined expression of one aiming at a target, lips compressed as if he’s biting them.  He appears to be a mature male with a less than ideal pose and expression which adds to the realism while it lessens the idealism portrayed.  The sculpture as a whole shows the balanced tension of a weapon aimed and about to let fly.

It’s interesting to compare these two directly.  Michelangelo’s David was considered to show the emotion of a young man who was preparing for battle and these feelings do show when compared to Medieval and Early Renaissance works- yet in comparison to Bernini’s David he seems emotionless and reserved.  The beautiful, ideal male body is more on display in Michelangelo’s piece; in Bernini’s work the body is somewhat obscured by the “chance” loincloth, the strap and bag for the sling stones and the twisted pose which also hides the body.   Of course the most striking difference is the Renaissance/Classical reserve compared the drama of the Baroque.  Here we have an argument of drama versus Classical composure in the comparison of these works- as later on the Rubenistes and Poussinistes will debate color and composition.  Both approaches have appeal and it isn’t really possible to deem the one as more important than the other.   Bernini’s sculpture is more complex and invites a longer, and even second and third view to appreciate the details. This David commands attention no matter where he’s placed.    Michelangelo’s work seems simpler and quieter and may be better to contemplate when we’re in a serene mood or want to reach serenity- a better companion in a quiet place. 

Opyion 2 Art and Protestantism

Week Six, 16^th Century Art in Northern Europe:   Protestant and Catholic

The major difference between Protestant and Catholic Art in Northern Europe was the subject matter.   Before the Reformation traditional altarpieces were produced by art workshops with the certainty that they would sell eventually to a Catholic congregation in a new church or to an established church in the mood to redecorate or embellish.  Protestant churches were usually left pretty plain by comparison.  Protestants believed that possession of glorious images of Mary, Jesus and the saints was akin to the worship of idols and so they frowned upon, banned from places of worship or, occasionally, destroyed such images.  Artists had to either change the subject of their art from religious to secular or relocate to an area that stayed with the Catholic tradition of Christianity.   Albrecht Dürer is a good example of an individual artist who changed his subject matter when the Reformation became a reality.  His early work in woodcut prints such as in The Apocalypse (1497-98) and the engraving Adam and Eve (1504) were made on speculation and certainly became popular as printed works but he came out as a Protestant Lutheran  as soon as it was safe (and profitable) to do so.  His promotional self-portraits reflect strong humanist inclinations as he as he looks for and finds the divinity within himself, then later religious works such as Four Apostles (1526) show a Protestant sensibility which puts John in front of Peter and Mark behind Paul.  He made himself famous with traditional Catholic subject matter and he lived during the right time to be able to change his themes and even used his vast talent to promote the new religion when the time was right.  

Mannerism is said to be the Southern European (especially Italian) reaction to the unease caused by the threat of Protestantism.  The sense of impending doom and the dreamlike or even nightmarish qualities of much of this work from around 1540 may have been a reflection of images coming from the North.  There has been discussion of Northern artists travelling to Italy and gaining Classical and Mannerist influences but there must have been some influence in the other direction as well.  Images of the Apocalypse and the dire consequences of a sinful life were popular in the Northern, Protestant inclined regions.   The Garden of Earthly Delights (c. 1505-1515) by Hieronymus Bosch predates both the Reformation and Mannerism.  This work was done for a secular patron, Count Hendrick III of Nassau, in the configuration of a triptych and was certainly painted by a devout Catholic.   It could, however, work well as a Protestant piece since it is unconventional and imaginative enough to present its message of the consequences of sin to any Christian, though the more Puritanical would object at the nudity.  It shows the bright and harmonious world before the entrance of sin, the busy occupations of a world given over to sin and the dark dreadful hell full of torments for those leaving such a world.  The lighting and landscape as portrayed in each panel sets the scene for the details and their enigmatic, symbolic meanings.

Painting of portraits continued to be popular in the Northern areas, at least for the wealthy, but there started to be an interest in the beauty of nature and in the occupations of peasants.  Landscapes, which had formerly only been painted as a setting for figures, became an acceptable subject.  A landscape could contain peasants going about their seasonal routine but not dominating the frame such as depicted in The Harvesters  and Return of the Hunters by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1565).  Plants and animals also became subjects in their own right, not only for their symbolic meanings in iconography.  These themes show a shift away from the dominance of overtly religious art, though it was argued that any art which  depicted nature or mankind or any part of creation glorified God- even if only indirectly.

Myths and Mannerism

Week Five- Late Renaissance Mannerism

The two works from the permanent collection of the Seattle Art Museum fit into the classification of Mannerism in slightly different ways. They both deal with the Classical, mythical subject matter which was popular in the Renaissance and beyond. In Leda and the Swan and Her Children by Vincent Sellaer, ca. 1540, the most obvious consideration is that the time is right, since the Mannerist style started in 1520 (at the death of Raphael)and went on until 1600.  The figures of Leda and the two children on the right intertwine somewhat in their diagonal fashion and Leda and the swan on the left echo each other in the upright “C” shapes made by her arm and his neck. The tree trunk behind these figures also reflects this “C” which creates an uneasy asymmetry between the right and left sides of the work.  The storm clouds behind the figures also create a sense of unease.  Bronzino also uses the upright arm with bent elbow in his Allegory with Venus and Cupid.  Leda shows the exaggerated, long fingers and heavy legs in the style of the time.  The figures of Leda and the child on the lower left crouch and twist in an uncomfortable, unsupported way and Leda, at least, is one of those Mannerist figures that seem too large for the frame of the picture.  The colors of the composition range from muted pastels to clashing red drapery, deep shadow and improbably blue clouds, which is another Mannerist trait.  Even though Leda and her daughter, Helen of Troy, were reputed to be great beauties I get a sense of challenge, particularly from the expression of Leda’s face and the children are impish but not particularly beautiful.  The being which most closely captures perfection is the swan who is Zeus in disguise.  This work has compositional similarities with Allegory with Venus and Cupid but lacks the overt sensuality as the interactions between Leda and her children are much more distant than the nipple pinching and almost kissing in the byplay between Venus and her son Cupid.

Because it was produced in 1619 The Origin of the Cornucopia by Abraham Janssens doesn’t fit the usual time frame of Mannerism which is usually said to have ended in about 1600.  Janssens however, was from Antwerp in Northern Europe and traveled in Italy where he was influenced by the Mannerist artists of several decades before his arrival.  The deep reds, greens and blues with pastel flesh of the figures are a Mannerist color scheme as is the fact that the figures seem too large for their frame.  These river nymphs twist and interact but are placed in slightly more comfortable, stable poses than most Mannerist work.  Gone are the long, stylish fingers although the bodies of the nymphs are elongated, though muscular, more like in the later work of the long-lived Michelangelo’s Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel.  None of these figures looks away from the task at hand to engage the viewer- instead we’re ignored, which is another trait that shows the Mannerist influence.  Leda in Leda and the Swan and Her Children challenges us with her direct cool stare and the nymphs in The Origin of the Cornucopia  unsettle us a little as we feel like voyeurs watching at them work as they ignore us.