Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse
| Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | William Hogarth |
| Year | 1758 |
| Type | Etching and engraving |
| Dimensions | 44.8 cm × 39.8 cm (17.6 in × 15.7 in) |
Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse (originally known as The Artist Painting the Comic Muse) is a painting in the National Portrait Gallery, London by the British artist William Hogarth.[1] It was painted in approximately 1757 and published as a print in etching and engraving in 1758, with its final and sixth state in 1764. Hogarth used this particular self-portrait as the frontispiece of his collected engravings, published in 1764.[2]
The painting depicts Hogarth himself painting the Muse of Comedy, which represented artistic inspiration.
The print of Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse went through several alterations mostly relating to the inscription at the bottom of the page. In the second state, the inscription read: "Wm Hogarth
Through this engraving, the early Georgian elbow chair in which Hogarth is shown sitting gave rise in the late nineteenth century to the collectors' and dealers' designation of Hogarth chair for similar bended-back elbow chairs with vase-shaped splats, slip seats (upholstered over a drop-in frame) and cabriole legs on pad feet.[6] Such chairs from the American colonies are designated "Queen Anne chairs", perpetuating an early error in dating them.[7]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b "National Portrait Gallery". Retrieved 8 July 2008.
- ^ Paulson, p.91
- ^ "Hogarth's Aesthetics". Retrieved 8 July 2008.
- ^ a b Stevens, p.61
- ^ Dobson, p.280
- ^ John Gloag, A Short Dictionary of Furniture, (London: Allen & Unwin) rev. ed. 1969 s.v. "Hogarth chair".
- ^ The dating error was given wide circulation in Percy Macquoid, A History of English Furniture: The Age of Walnut (London) 1904.
References
- Dobson, Austin (2000). William Hogarth. Adamant media Corporation. ISBN 1-4021-8472-7.
- Paulson, Ronald (1998). Don Quixote in England: The Aesthetics of Laughter. JHU Press. ISBN 0-8018-5695-7.
- Stevens, Andrew (1996). Hogarth and the Shows of London. Chazen Museum of Art. ISBN 0-932900-42-9.