Accessioned Work- A Rake's Progress
The Heir
The Levee
The Orgy
The Marriage
The Arrest
The Gaming House
The Prison
The Mad House
William Hogarth, A Rake's Progress, 1732-34, oil on canvas. Previously housed in Sir John Soane's Museum, London.
This series of 8 oil paintings by William Hogarth depicts the descent of a "rake", or a man of loose morals. The protagonist, Tom Rakewell, returns home after being expelled from university and inherits his fathers money upon his death. In The Heir we see his father weighing gold and a diary with entries detailing his apathy for his son’s life. This characterizes him as a man who values gold and not his child, contextualizing the family dynamics and values our protagonist comes from. After this, Tom Rakewell is seen to immediately spend this wealth on a new house, luxuries, and prostitutes. Following the depictions of an arrest, a marriage based on greed, gambling himself into debt, and prison, Rakewell ends up in a mental institution.
This narrative functions to critique not only the vice and folly of the elite, but also the corrupting influence of power and wealth. While Rakewell was immoral before his inheritance, his father was specifically characterized as greedy and superficial. His focus on money contributed to a lifestyle where he didn’t parent or connect with his child. Hogarth posits that greed and immorality are inherited alongside wealth.
This lack of love and apathy is shown in little ways. In The Arrest, an impoverished child picks up his discarded staff, being completely ignored by everyone. The Gaming House shows rich men so preoccupied in their gambling that they fail to notice the fire starting in the back. The Marriage & The Prison both feature Rakewell ignoring his illegitimate child. This lack of empathy is then subverted when, in The Mad House, he is abandoned at the mental institution and becomes subject to the disdain of the rich. Two rich women gawk in the back, highlighted with beams of light which also illuminate Rakewell’s distorted form. Through lighting, these two subjects are shown to have a connection, the rich women becoming the literal past he has to look back on.
The only moral person in this series is his ex-fiancee and mother’s child, Sarah Young. She is always depicted wearing simple dress, contrasting with Tom’s transformation to a lavish style which started from The Levee. Having been abandoned by him immediately upon receiving his inheritance, she continues to follow and care for him due to her unconditional love, giving him chance after chance to take the moral route. Tom ignores her loyalty and love in exchange for a lifestyle full of vice.
While being of the Rococo era, these works do not share its aesthetic decisions, choosing much darker and moody palettes. This denies the usual ephemeral quality of the Rococo, instead using firm styles which gives the man, his story, and his morals more weight. This story can be seen as a reflection of men in society during this time, as there is much relation to elite men and how they misuse their gained power.
It was a direct critique of the nobles of the time, deconstructing their carefully controlled veneer. However, it also comments on how wealth and power of that scale is a corrupting force. It turns you into an immoral being. This critique fits within our exhibit as both explore the implications and downfalls of European elite culture, no matter how beautiful and awe-inspiring it might be. However, unlike our other pieces, this narrative is evident, not something only exposed with analysis. Therefore, it was vital to set the tone for the rest of the pieces.