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William Hogarth: A Harlot's Progress

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A Harlot's Progress, 1

A Harlot's Progress

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WILLIAM HOGARTH
English, 1697-1764
A Harlot’s Progress, 1
etching and engraving, 1732
The William A. Whitaker Foundation Art Fund, 92.6.1 

The harlot's progress begins when a young woman, Mary (or Moll) Hackabout, arrives in London from the country. Presumably she has come to look for work as a servant, but a procuress praises her beauty and suggests a more profitable occupation. In the background an old lecher watches with anticipation.

Hogarth's images are stuffed with visual clues and comments illuminating his story. Here, for example, a clergyman on horseback fails to see either the damage his horse is doing -- upsetting a stack of pots -- or the corruption of Moll's innocence happening right beside him.

 

 

 
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