How William Hogarth and artists across Europe captured the new
modernity of the 18th century, revealing themes still strikingly
relevant today
Illustrating the full range of Hogarth's most important paintings and
prints, this book shows them in a new light, juxtaposed with work by
major European contemporaries who influenced him or took their
inspiration from him in their painting of modern life--including
Watteau, Chardin, Troost, and Longhi. Hogarth is revealed not only as a
key figure in British art history, but also as a major European artist.
It is also a tale of four cities: London, Paris, Venice, and Amsterdam,
represented in maps from the period. The themes of city life, social
protest, sexuality, and satire, which come to the fore in the art of
Hogarth and his contemporaries, are very much alive today.