# William Hogarth

## Biography

William Hogarth was a pioneering English painter, engraver, satirist, and social critic born in London in 1697. His early life was marked by financial hardship, including his father's imprisonment for debt, an experience that profoundly shaped his artistic perspective. Initially apprenticed to an engraver, Hogarth later embraced oil painting and developed a distinctive style that blended realistic portraiture with sharp, often humorous, social commentary.

He is best remembered for his "modern moral subjects," a series of narrative paintings and engravings that satirized the follies and vices of 18th-century London society. Notable examples include "A Harlot's Progress," "A Rake's Progress," and "Marriage A-la-Mode." Hogarth championed a uniquely English school of art and democratized art by successfully selling his popular prints directly to the public. He also authored "The Analysis of Beauty," a treatise on aesthetic theory. Hogarth died in 1764, leaving a significant legacy as a master of visual storytelling and a keen observer of human nature.

## Books

- [The Analysis of Beauty: Written with a view of fixing the fluctuating ideas of taste](https://samolit.com/books/96778)