William Hogarth, Industry and Idleness, plate 1.
267 mm x 352 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: Prudence Cuming Associates Limited.
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Industry and Idleness, plate 1
William Hogarth (1697 - 1764)
RA Collection: Art
The first plate of William Hogarth's series of twelve prints Industry and Idleness, which the artist 'calculated for the use & Instruction of youth'. The set tells how the contrasting behaviours of industrious and idele apprentices lead to their divergent fortunes in later life, with each of ithe images accompanied by scriptural passages, mostly from Proverbs. With this set Hogarth wanted to appeal to the market for popular prints rather than an exclusive, high-end audience (as in the case of Marriage A-la-Mode, published shortly before), and printed impressions on cheap paper for sale at all of London's print shops. The original plates are now in the Thomas Ross Collection, England.
This plate, 'The Fellow 'Prentices at the Looms', shows the industrious apprentice working industriously while the idle apprentice is watching by his angry master.
Object details
267 mm x 352 mm
Hogarth's prints. Vol. I. - [s.l.]: [n.d.]
Associated works of art
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