William Hogarth, A Midnight Modern Conversation

A Midnight Modern Conversation

William Hogarth (1697 - 1764)

RA Collection: Art

William Hogarth's painting A Modern Midnight Conversation (Einberg 57) is only known from this 1733 engraving, although many painted copies attest to its popularity. One, at Yale, was believed by Ronald Paulson to be the probable original.



The print shows a scene in a private room in a tavern, depicting eleven figures in varying states of drunkenness. The scene is comparable to plate 3 of Hogarth's A Rake's Progress (17/3421), made around the same time, although the male company populating A Midnight Modern Conversation contrasts with the prostitutes accompanying Tom Rakewell in A Rake's Progress. As Paulson notes, many impressions of the print were printed in red ink, as here.

Object details

Title
A Midnight Modern Conversation
After
William Hogarth (1697 - 1764)
Published by
William Hogarth (1697 - 1764)
Object type
Print
Place of Publication
London
Medium
Printed in red ink
Dimensions

332 mm x 456 mm

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
17/3795
This image is from a book

Hogarth's prints. Vol. I. - [s.l.]: [n.d.]

Click here to view the book

Associated works of art

2 results

return to start
back

Start exploring the RA Collection

read more
  • Explore art works, paint-smeared palettes, scribbled letters and more...
  • Artists and architects have run the RA for 250 years.
    Our Collection is a record of them.
Start exploring