William Hogarth, A Rake's Progress

Ian Gordon (Anglia Ruskin University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1735

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Comedy
Satire

Resources

Hogarth began planning A Rake's Progress, the second of his narrative comic history cycles, immediately following the enormous financial success of his publication, by subscription, of the prints of A Harlot's Progress, in April 1732 (see separate entry in The Literary Encyclopedia). This time he planned a series of eight paintings ironically charting the protagonist's 'progress', and again planned to make prints of the paintings, which he would sell by subscription. He completed the paintings in mid-1734 and set to work engraving them, having previously advertised subscriptions for the prints as open on 22 December 1733 at a guinea and a half a set. He had learnt from his experience of publishing A Harlot'…

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2822 words

Citation: Gordon, Ian. "A Rake's Progress". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 July 2003 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7031, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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