Hogarth and Europe

Hogarth is seen by many as the archetypal painter of English life, satirical and sarcastic, maybe, but an astute observer of the follies and foibles of 18th Century living. He is also renowned for his hatred of all things French, from the latest fashions (such as the red heels on the shoes of the young man in Marriage-a-la-Mode - not to mention the beauty spots hiding the disease he also picked up in France) to their poor diet (the above detail is from O the Roast Beef of Old England 'The Gate of Calais'). However, as Tate Britain's exhibition will show, and the talk will describe, Hogarth was a man who genuinely loved art, and was inspired by artists from across the continent. We will examine to what extent his xenophobia was genuine, and how profoundly his admiration for European painting influenced his own work.