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William Hogarth: A Harlot's Progress

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A Harlot's Progress, 2

A Harlot's Progress

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WILLIAM HOGARTH
English, 1697-1764
A Harlot’s Progress, 2
etching and engraving, 1732
The William A. Whitaker Foundation Art Fund, 92.6.2 

In this image, Moll appears as the mistress of a wealthy Jewish merchant. He has just returned home as Moll overturns the table in an attempt to divert his attention while her clandestine lover makes his way out.

Hogarth had a great distaste for the mercantile class and their extravagant life style. Here the merchant's corrupted state is symbolized by his exotic possessions: the tea, the mahogany table, the monkey, and the black houseboy -- all derived from colonial trade.

 
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