William Hogarth

Date1795-1822

Engraver Benjamin Smith II

After work by William Hogarth (1697 - 1764)

Engraver James Heath (1757-1834)

OriginEngland, London

MediumStipple, aquatint, and etching on wove paper

DimensionsOverall: 15 1/2 × 11 13/16in. (39.4 × 30cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1972-409,1

DescriptionLower margin: "Painted by W. Hogarth / Engraved by Benj. Smith / WILLIAM HOGARTH. / From the Original Picture in the Collection of John & Josiah Boydell / Publish'd June 1, 1795, 1795, J. & J. Boydell N.o 90 Cheapside :&: at the Shakespeare Gallery: Pall Mall."
Label TextThis engraving is based on painter and engraver William Hogarth’s 1745 self-portrait “The Painter and His Pug.” In 1749, Hogarth created an engraving based off this self-portrait titled “Gulielmus Hogarth.” In 1763, he altered the copper plate of “Gulielmus Hogarth” to create “The Bruiser,” a satire of poet and failed parson Charles Churchill. Therefore, after 1763, future prints based on this portrait would be made by other engravers, not William Hogarth. “Gulielmus Hogarth” served as a frontispiece to Hogarth’s bound editions of his works and was replaced by another engraved self-portrait, “Hogarth Painting the Comic Muse.”

In 1795, Benjamin Smith engraved his version of this print based on “The Painter and His Pug.” At the time, “The Painter and His Pug” was in the collection of John and Josiah Boydell, who also owned Hogarth’s original copper plates and sold folios titled “The Original Works of William Hogarth.”

Hogarth is pictured alongside his beloved pug, Trump, who became symbolic of the artist himself. In 1753, Hogarth wrote a book titled “An Analysis of Beauty” where he developed a theory about the “line of beauty.” The line is a s-shaped form that is particularly pleasing to the eyes, which can be seen on the palette to Hogarth’s right. The books below Hogarth are volumes of Shakespeare, Swift, and Milton.