Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism
Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism | |
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Artist | William Hogarth |
Year | 1762 |
Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism is a satirical print by the English artist
Interpretation
The preacher
The print depicts a preacher – his open mouth and scale of vociferation an allusion to
Superstition
The print includes visual references to more than a dozen reputed instances of witchcraft or possession in England.
In a
The congregation are in various states of ecstasy, grief and horror. Another minister (most likely a representation of the squint-eyed George Whitefield)[1] sings with a pained expression a Methodist hymn, accompanied by weeping cherubs. A shoeblack vomits nails and pins – possible a reference to the boy of Bilson, who ate metal items. Next to him a woman lies on the floor with rabbits running from under her skirt – this must be Mary Toft, a woman from Godalming, who in 1726 was supposed to have given birth to a litter of rabbits.[7] A Jew with a knife sacrifices an insect on the altar. A turbaned Turk looks in at the window, quietly smoking a pipe, and thanks the prophet that he is a Muslim.[11] He represents the "rational, enlightened part of mankind looking down on Christian fanatics with surprise and disgust."[1]
Above the congregation is suspended a "A New and Correct Globe of Hell by Romaine" (possibly referring to William Romaine[1]), with parts labelled "Molten Lead Lake", "Pitch & Tar Rivers", "Horrid Zone", "The Brimstone Ocean", and "Eternal Damnation Gulf". One man below the globe is terrified when a preacher next to him (possibly John Wesley) points it out to him.[1]
Beneath the engraving Hogarth quotes 1 John 4:1, "Believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits whether they are of God: because many false Prophets are gone out into the World."
Reception
Art historian Horace Walpole praised Hogarth, stating that this print "surpassed all his other performances" and "would alone immortalize his unequalled talents."[12]
See also
References
- ^ JSTOR 3051234
- ^ Paulson, Ronald (1971), Hogarth: His Life, Art, and Times (New Haven and London: Yale University Press), vol. 2, pp. 297-298.
- ^ "Apocalypse > Other Artists > William Hogarth". www.apocalypsepress.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ Krysmanski, Bernd (1997), "Upsetting the Balance: William Hogarth and Roger de Piles".
- .
- ISBN 1-4051-3445-3, p.188
- ^ a b c d Clerk, Thomas; Hogarth, William (1812). The Works of William Hogarth: (including the 'Analysis of Beauty,') Elucidated by Descriptions, Critical, Moral, and Historical; (founded on the Most Approved Authorities.) To which is Prefixed Some Account of His Life. R. Scholey. p. 193. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ Anecdote biography, John Timbs, R. Bentley, 1860, p.66
- ISBN 0-8122-1751-9, p.388
- ^ ISBN 978-1-55111-611-2.
- ^ Anecdotes of William Hogarth: written by himself, William Hogarth; J.B. Nichols and son, 1833, p.262-264
- ^ Memoirs of the reign of King George the Third, Volume 1, Horace Walpole, Lea & Blanchard, 1845
External links
- Bernd Krysmanski, "We see a Ghost: Hogarth's Satire on Methodists and Connoisseurs", Art Bulletin, 80, No. 2 (1998), pp. 292-310.
- Antony Clayton, "Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism: who believed in ghosts in Hogarth’s England?"
- Satires of William Hogarth: EGL 310
- "William Hogarth - The Medley", La Clé des Langues (en ligne), Lyon, June 2013