A Harlot's Progress, 1 (original) (raw)

WILLIAM HOGARTH
English, 1697-1764
A Harlot�s Progress, 1
etching and engraving, 1732
The William A. Whitaker Foundation Art Fund, 92.6.1

The harlot's progress begins when a young woman, Mary (or Moll) Hackabout, arrives in London from the country. Presumably she has come to look for work as a servant, but a procuress praises her beauty and suggests a more profitable occupation. In the background an old lecher watches with anticipation.

Hogarth's images are stuffed with visual clues and comments illuminating his story. Here, for example, a clergyman on horseback fails to see either the damage his horse is doing -- upsetting a stack of pots -- or the corruption of Moll's innocence happening right beside him.