Hogarth's Britons

An analysis of the work of William Hogarth, whose painting captured British identity during times of struggle in the 1700s. Hogarth's Britons explores how the English painter and graphic satirist William Hogarth (1697-1764) set out to define British nationhood and identity at a time of division at home and conflict abroad. Setting Hogarth's interest in the unifying idea of British national character and spirit in all its variety alongside the ongoing national debate on Britain's past, present, and future within European and World affairs, this book shows that Hogarth and his art have never been more relevant. Beginning in the 1720s, Hogarth created some of the most iconic images in British and European art, including Marriage A-La-Mode, O the Roast Beef of Old England (The Gate of Calais), and The March of the Guards to Finchley. Through such vibrant scenes, rich in topical commentary, he conveyed a sense of external threat (real and imagined) from foreign powers and internal political, social, and cultural upheaval. At the same time, he offered his fellow Britons a confident, reassuring idea of the rights and liberties they enjoyed under King George and his government. With British society and politics in flux, the themes explored in Hogarth's Britons have a profound resonance with our own time.