“William Hogarth” or “Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse”
“William Hogarth” or “Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse” is an oil on canvas painting by the English realist artist, William Hogarth, circa 1757 to 1758. It is a self-portrait of the artist at work. Hogarth wanted to depict himself in the act of painting, rather than the traditional posed portrait.
In this painting, Hogarth is seen painting Thalia. In Greek mythology, Thalia is the Muse of Comedy. To Hogarth, she represented his artistic inspiration. Hogarth depicted himself seated in a chair, holding a palette knife in his right hand to lay the white underlying paint onto the canvas. In his left hand are his brushes and paint palette. Thalia is already depicted on the canvas. She holds a comedy mask in her left hand and a tome in her right.
Between 1758 and 1764, Hogarth engraved this piece into an etching seven times. He used it as the frontispiece to a book of his etchings that he published in 1764, the year that he died. Each version of the engraving has unique subtle differences as Hogarth developed his piece. Some versions contain his own book he had written, Analysis of Beauty, propped up against the easel. Others contain one of his beloved pugs urinating on a stack of master artworks.
Although he did traditional portraits and realistic scenes, Hogarth is most remembered for his satire works and social criticisms. Additionally, Hogarth was the first artist to paint sequential art, using images in a sequence to tell a story.
“William Hogarth” or “Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse” is currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England.
For more on William Hogarth, please visit his short biography here.
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