William Hogarth

English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist (1697-1764)

Source-basedFalling

Lived 1697–1764, aged 67

Fame19.4
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Artists rank#141
Wikipedia13.7K

Wikipedia
73 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1697–1764
Aged 67

Summary

Updated 2026-05-29

Hogarth painted morality tales as comic strips before comics existed—his Rake's Progress and Marriage A-la-Mode turned everyday corruption into spectacle. His satirical style became so pervasive that the term "Hogarthian" still describes political mockery today.

Biography

About

William Hogarth was an English painter, engraver, satirist, cartoonist and writer. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects", and he is perhaps best known for his series A Harlot's Progress, A Rake's Progress and Marriage A-la-Mode. Familiarity with his work is so widespread that satirical political illustrations in this style are often referred to as "Hogarthian".

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