William Hogarth, Narrative Satire, and the Evolution of the Cartoon

William Hogarth and the Theoretical Foundations of Graphic Satire

• The Analysis of Beauty (1753):

  • William Hogarth published this treatise with the explicit aim of "fixing the fluctuating IDEAS OF TASTE."

  • The S-Curve: The work emphasizes the "Line of Beauty," a serpentine or "tortuous" line that lures the eye. Hogarth quotes Milton to describe this: "So vary'd he, and of his tortuous train / Curl'd many a wanton wreath, in sight of Eve, / To lure her eye."

  • Variety: The principle of variety is central to Hogarth's aesthetic theory, as indicated by the inscription "VARIETY" on the printed frontispiece dated $MDCCLXXII$ ($1772$ edition).

• The Five Days Peregrination ($1732$):

  • Commonly known as "The Tour," this manuscript documents a five-day journey by Hogarth and his companions.

  • The Company: The group included Hogarth, Mr. Thornhill, Mr. Tothall, Mr. Scott, and Mr. Forrest.

  • Specific Sketches/Scenes:

    • A: The Fisherman Shaving.

    • B: Mr. Tothall Shaving himself.

    • C: Mr. Hogarth Drawing this Drawing.

    • D: Mr. Forrest at Breakfast.

    • E: Mr. Scott Finishing a Drawing.

  • Attestation: The manuscript concludes with a note stating that not one of the company was unemployed. It features signatures from Sam Scott, Wm Tothall, Jona Thornhill, and E. Forrest.

• Mr. Somebody and Mr. Nobody ($1732$): Early examples of personification and character-based satire utilized by Hogarth during this period.

Narrative Satire: A Harlot’s Progress and A Rake’s Progress

• A Harlot’s Progress ($1732$): One of Hogarth's earliest "modern moral subjects," depicting the tragic downfall of a young woman.

• A Rake’s Progress ($1735$):

  • Plate 1: The Inheritance:

    • Inscriptive Verse: "Vanity of Age, untoward, / Ever Spleeny, ever froward! / Why these Bolts, & Massy Chains, / Squint suspicions, jealous Pains?"

    • Theme: The Rake inherits a fortune from an old miserly father. The scene is filled with symbols of greed and neglect: mortgages, leases, releases, and India Bonds.

    • The Father/Son dynamic: "Hath Thou a Son in Time be wise— / He views thy Toil with other Eyes."

  • Plate 2: The Levee:

    • Theme: The Rake is surrounded by various "professors" of the arts—dancing masters, fencing masters, and poets—representing "vicious Taste" and "fashion in her changing Vest."

    • Inscriptive Verse: "Prosperity, (with Harlot's smiles, / Most pleasing when she most beguiles) / How soon, sweet foe can all thy Train / Of false gay frantick, loud & vain."

  • Plate 3: The Tavern Scene:

    • Location: A tavern (Pontac) where the Rake descends into debauchery among prostitutes and musicians.

    • Inscriptive Verse: "Vanity of youthful Blood, / So by one to poison good / Woman, form'd for Social Love / Fairest of Powers above."

  • Plate 6: The Gaming House:

    • Theme: The total loss of fortune through gambling.

    • Inscriptive Verse: "Gold, Thou bright Son of Phoebus, source / Universal Intercourse; / Of weeping Virtue Redress, / And blessing These who love to be; / Yet oft behold this Sacred Trust / The Fool of avaritious Lust."

    • Implications: The scene depicts the chaos attending the misuse of wealth, leading to "needlefs Quarrels, endlefs Fears," and "repentant Tears."

The Four Stages of Cruelty ($1751$)

• First Stage of Cruelty:

  • Depicts the "Infant Race" engaging in "sportive Woe."

  • Main Character: Nero (the protagonist who progresses through the stages).

  • Scene: Children and youths torturing animals (e.g., sticking an arrow through a dog's anus).

  • Moral: "Learn from this fair Example—You / Whom savage Sports delight. / How Cruelty disgusts the view / While Pity charms the sight."

• Second Stage of Cruelty:

  • Nero is now a man, working as a hackney coachman.

  • Scene: He is brutally beating an exhausted, fallen horse. Other scenes include a man over-driving a faint lamb and a man assaulting a child.

  • Moral Question: "Inhuman Wretch! say whence proceeds / This coward Cruelty? / What Intrest springs from barbrous deeds? / What Joy from Misery?"

• Cruelty in Perfection (Third Stage):

  • Scene: Nero has escalated from animal abuse to the murder of his pregnant lover/accomplice.

  • Moral: "To lawless Love when once betrayd, / Soon Crime to Crime succeeds."

• The Reward of Cruelty (Final Stage):

  • Scene: Nero's body is being publicly dissected in an anatomical theater after his execution.

  • Details: His tongue is torn out, his eyeballs are wrung from their sockets, and dogs feed on his discarded heart.

  • Description: "Behold the Villain's dire disgrace! / Not Death itself can end. / He finds no peaceful Burial Place; / His breathlefs Corse, no friend."

Historical and Theoretical Context of Modernization

• Two Roots of Modernity:

  1. Capitalist Industrialization: Initiated in Britain during the last quarter of the $18^{th}$ century. It focused on material power and the use of machinery in production as the driving force of modernity.

  2. The Enlightenment: Widespread in Western Europe during the $18^{th}$ century. It was built on trust in rationality and progress.

     • The Enlightenment Project: Aimed at creating a new universal culture that was secular, rational, humanitarian, republican, and "progressive."

Rodolphe Töpffer and the Aesthetic of the Comic

• Storia del Signor Vieux Bois ($1827$):

  • Created by Töpffer, this is often cited as one of the first true comic strips.

  • Plot points: Mr. Vieux Bois encounters the "shadow of his ancestors," falls in love, attempts to distract himself with study, sends letters that receive no response, and experiences "desolation."

• Töpffer’s Artistic Theories:

  • The Space of the Extravagant: He described an "immense, hazy space" between the serious and the reasonable, populated by "extravagant ghosts" and "crazy figures."

  • Idea Over Anatomy: Töpffer advocated for the artist who "sees in my characters an idea and not limbs." He believed in sacrificing anatomical correctness for the sake of the "energetic appeal" of the idea.

  • The Unskilled Monk Example: He praised medieval vignettes drawn by "unskilled monks" because, despite lacking academic precision, they possessed a "singular grace" and appeal that professional professors could not replicate.

  • Aesthetic Unity: The aim is not just to produce a whole but "to create a being."

• Minimalism and Evocation:

  • The Donkey Paradigm: Töpffer noted that a sketch with four limbs, an ample belly, a thin tail, and two long ears is immediately recognized as a donkey. It does not need to resemble a real donkey to evoke the idea of one.

  • Grandville’s Five Lines: He referenced the artist Grandville, who could draw dancing or fencing men with only five lines. By suppressing color, form, and facial detail, the movement and life of the character are more purely conveyed.

Development of the British Caricature School

• Thomas Rowlandson:

  • The Assembly Room at Bath ($1798$): Captured the social dynamics and excesses of spa culture.

  • Comforts of Bath: A series satirizing the health pursuits of the elite.

• Filial Piety ($1788$): A satirical print published by J.W. Fores depicting the Prince of Wales ignoring an old man (likely his father, King George III) while he parties.

• George Cruikshank:

  • The Gunpowder Plot ($1840$): Also titled "Guys in Council," showcasing his narrative illustration style.

• Adolf Oberländer:

  • Le Petit Moritz ($1890$): Features secret marginal drawings in a pupil's Latin grammar book, illustrating words like "Panis" (bread), "piscis" (fish), and "crinis" (hair).