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Hogarth derived from Italy also, though certainly at second hand, another and less admirable peculiarity of style. His main method of composition was by lighting, his grouping was inspired by Nature, and he made very little use of composition by line; but what linear pattern he did introduce was by little wriggling lines rather than by flowing curves, in this showing a preference for florid or baroque decoration as against the more majestic Van Dyckian manner

(25).

In all these ways he was influenced by tradition and environment, but his greatest gift of all, his memory, was his own. This he had trained from childhood. 'Be where I would,' he said, 'while my eyes were open I was at my sketches.' He believed that 'He, who could train his memory, could have as clear a knowledge of the human figure as a man who can write freely hath of the twenty-four letters of the alphabet.' Any action that he saw, he retained in his mind, with or without the help of a hasty sketch (26).

Hogarth did not come to full power all at once. He does not seem to have done much painting till about 1725 when he was about twenty-eight. From whom he learned to use the brush, unless from Thornhill and from his fellow students at St. Martin's Lane, is not known. His first paintings were small conversation pieces, in which persons of high rank were grouped together in grand interiors. Some of the earliest are a little timid in handling and obvious faults in drawing occur (27).

But even these have always a certain luminous and atmospheric consistency. By 1731, when he painted the Conquest of Mexico his eye for colour and for light and shade was well developed, and he could display his powers of memory in contrasting the natural poses of the spectators with those of the stiff actors in the charade (28).

In 1732 he painted his first didactic series the six pictures entitled The Harlots' Progress in which there is plenty of action but a want of clear sequence in the different parts of the story. The connection is clearer in the eight pictures of The Rake's Progress, painted in 1735. The Rake's weaknesses are at first pitiable, and then repulsive, but he never becomes quite inhuman. It is noticeable that the colour scheme of each scene varies according to the mood. Mostly it is drab and sordid; in the Orgy it is unpleasantly garish; but in the Arrest the only outdoor scene and the only scene where a good action is prominent, it is frankly beautiful. The air is fresh; fleecy clouds are in the sky; a warm haze envelops the distant St. James' Palace; a gleam of sun falls upon the Rake's blue coat and gilded sleeves and upon the white cap and buff dress of his rescuer. The delicate notes of colour, the pink, purple, carmine and plum colour harmonise with the soberer hues because of their existence in atmosphere. The tall feather in the hat of the spectator on the right is enough to balance the main mass of buildings on the left. All the expressions and poses are admirable from the hesitating hands of the embarrassed young dandy, his rescuer embarrassed in

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a different way, the indignant first bailiff, the sedan-chair man impatient to go on, the awed onlooker, to the greasy inquisitive lamp-lighter (29).

But such work alone failed to satisfy Hogarth's ambitions. In 1736 he painted for St. Bartholomew's Hospital the Pool of Bethesda and the Good Samaritan, two sincere but uninspired attempts at a more heroic style of composition. In 1738 came the Four Times of the Day, which gave far more scope for his special talents. Evening, where weary children are being dragged or carried home by their parents after a hot day, is a beautiful example of Hogarth's power as a colourist and as a painter of effects of light (30).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Times_of_the_Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Times_of_the_Day

Probably the forties of the century were Hogarth's most brilliant period. The six Marriage a la Mode pictures, which belong to 1744, form on the whole the best of his series both as painting and as drama. In 1749 came the even more remarkable Calais Gate, where he records his own arrest while sketching in the streets of that town. In the centre a joint of beef carried by a staggering servant and fondly handled by a fat friar becomes the subject of envious comment among some starving soldiers. The destitution of the French, which their own

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painters ignored, was what first struck Hogarth's eye. The picture is also a masterpiece of lighting; the shadow on the stonework and the vista through the archway show that he might have been an able landscape painter (31).

In the famous March to Finchley the clouds are even better painted and there is a fine effect of sunlight upon a distant hill. But the tendency to overcrowding which was to mar so much of Hogarth's later work is already apparent. It becomes more marked in the Four Pictures of an Election of 1755, although these contain much vigorous drawing and some fine effects of light and space. Another fault in this later work is the more laborious and less liquid quality of the paint (32).

In later work still Hogarth attempted to apply the principles laid down in his book, The Analysis of Beauty (fitness, regularity, variety, intricacy; simplicity, quantity). This is evident in two works of 1759, The Lady's Last Stake and Sigismonda. In the former the lighting is admirable, the composition simple and the characterisation subtly restrained; but the handling appears from the reproduction to have lost some freedom. This is certainly one defect in Sigismonda, Hogarth's one attempt at tragedy, so severely criticised by Reynolds. But a worse fault, the lack of taste in painting tears in the lady's eyes, has destroyed the sincerity of a well-drawn and well-arranged composition (33).

http://uploads1.wikiart.org/images/william-hogarth/sigismonda-1759.jpg

His gift of memory is both the strength and the limitation of Hogarth's portraits, which, are often not so much complete records of character as speaking likenesses or recollections of a momentary facial expression. The finest example of this kind is the Shrimp Girl where he has swiftly and fluently recorded for ail time the pathos of a fleeting smile. Here he has anticipated impressionism in ignoring structure and putting down light, shadow and colour only. Equally vivid is his Simon Frazer, where the bold brush-strokes exactly suit the coarse and crafty character of the old Jacobite (34).

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shrimp_Girl http://www.wikiart.org/en/william-hogarth/simon-fraser-11th-baron-lovat

Hogarth's portraits of women are less remarkable. The painter's Sister, although suggestive of an agreeable capable personality, is chiefly admirable for the luminous painting of the face, of the orange shadows in the yellow dress, and of the changes in the green of the scarf. Single portraits of children by him are rare; though sympathetic children occur in his narrative pieces. An unusually graceful and decorative Fishing Party at Dulwich includes a very believable little girl with a large fishing-rod. As might be expected from such a man, the sketches which he has left behind often show Hogarth at his best (35).

What Hogarth saw and recorded was always outside himself. There is only one case in which he shows a glimpse of his own thoughts about himself and that is in his last engraving, the Bathos of 1764 a work of biographical rather than artistic interest in which Father Time surrounded by every symbol of decay is wearily expiring at the Sign of the World's End. Clearly he knew that his own busy little Cosmos had come to a close (36).

(Abridged from: Artbl http://www.artble.com/artists/william_hogarth)

http://uploads5.wikiart.org/images/william-hogarth/the-bathos.jpg 154

1. Find synonyms to the following words and expressions in the text:

1.an uncompromising attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is (P.

4)

2.the process of becoming progressively worse (P. 4)

3.denoting furniture or architecture characterized by an elaborately ornamental late baroque style of decoration prevalent in 18th-century continental Europe (P. 6)

4.include or contain (something) as a constituent part (P. 6)

5.waving , unconfined , streaming (P. 6)

6.very complicated or detailed (P. 6)

7.bright, colourful, and very noticeable (P. 7)

8.make fun of smth/smb in an unkind way (P. 8)

9.producing a great deal of profit (P. 9)

10.something that serves as a sign or evidence of a specified fact, event, or quality (P. 12)

11.moral corruption; wickedness (P.13)

12.a risky or daring journey or undertaking (P. 19)

13.witheringly scornful; severely critical (P. 2)

14.to die (P. 22)

15.abundant in supply or quantity (P. 23)

16.explanation that makes something clear; clarification (P. 23)

17.very skilful and clever (P. 24)

18.conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness (P. 28)

19.deserving or arousing pity (P. 29)

20.detestable, disgusting , loathsome (P. 29)

21.of a dull light brown colour (P. 29)

22.dirty or squalid (P. 29)

23.obtrusively bright and showy; lurid (P. 29)

24.rap up, cover, or surround completely (P. 29)

25.a yellowish-beige colour (P. 29)

26.an enclosed chair for conveying one person, carried between horizontal poles by two porters (P. 29)

27.curious (P. 29)

28.lacking in imagination or originality (P. 29)

29.extreme poverty (P. 31)

30.a long, narrow view as between rows of trees or buildings (P. 31)

31.impair the quality or appearance; spoil (P. 32)

32.evident , obvious (P. 32)

33.conformity , accordance (P. 33)

34.complexity (P. 33)

35.troubling (P. 34)

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36.a quality that evokes pity or sadness (P. 34)

2. Insert of/for/from prepositions:

1. ... the first time

2.gained popularity ... his morality paintings

3.the harder side ... life

4.a sense ... gritty realism

5.concerns r ... his fellow countrymen

6.work... a completely different genre

7.the prints that were made ... them

8.ranged ... super rich aristocrats to the incredibly poor working-classes

9.far... being a positive influence

10.to produce work ... a completely different genre

11.accessible to people... the middle and lower classes

12.he became famous ... his engravings

13.social scene ... the day

14.a major source ... inspiration to other artists

15.the new medium ... the comic strip arose ... his work

16.at the turn ... the 18th century

17.a series of engravings ... scenes from popular theatre shows

18.received commissions.. the rich and influential elite of ... London society

19.who accused him... being a spy

20.his distaste ... the continent

21.making a good living ... his printed works and portraiture

22.caused outrage ... one prominent MP

23.suffered ... a paralytic seizure

24.'a naturally good eye ... drawing'

25.he cared nothing ... the 'mere barren study of making fine lines.'

26.which need copious notes... their elucidation

27.there is any record ... his having painted in oils

28.Rembrandt's perfect management ... shadow

29.learned much... the Dutch

30.his most enjoyable quality.comes ...

31.Hogarth derived ... Italy also

32.he made very little use ... composition

33.a preference ... florid or baroque decoration

34.but his greatest gift ... all, his memory, was his own

35.his eye ... colour and ... light and shade

36.he could display his powers ... memory

37.a want ... clear sequence in the different parts of the story

38.the expressions and poses are admirable ... the hesitating hands ... the embarrassed young dandy

39.he painted ... St. Bartholomew's Hospital

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40.which gave far more scope ... his special talents

41.a painter ... effects ... light

42.the subject ... envious comment among some starving soldiers

43.some fine effects ... light and space

44.the lack ... taste in painting

45.his gift ... memory

46.recorded ... ail time the pathos ... a fleeting smile

47.the painter's Sister, although suggestive ... an agreeable capable personality

48.admirable ... the luminous painting

49.as might be expected ... such a man

50.a work ... biographical rather than artistic interest

3.Give synonyms to the words and phrases in bold.

4.Explain the meaning of the highlighted phrases in the text.

5.Find in the text all the expressions referring to Hogarth's technique and style of painting. How do they characterize the evolution of his manner of painting? innovative (1)

a sense of gritty realism (4) Technological advances (9) elaborate crowded allegories,

exaggerated the contrast and minor characters painted over a dark ground have faded into mere ghosts

the shadowy backgrounds are penetrated by softly gradated light and painted thinly with a golden transparency (23)

luminous enough (23)

his methods were often speedier

his high lights with a dexterous turn of the brush in light liquid impasto (24) main method of composition was by lighting, his grouping was inspired by Nature (25)

little wriggling lines rather than by flowing curves (25) a preference for florid or baroque decoration (25)

persons of high rank were grouped together in grand interiors (27) a certain luminous and atmospheric consistency (28)

he could display his powers of memory in contrasting the natural poses of the spectators (28)

the colour scheme of each scene varies according to the mood (29) drab and sordid, unpleasantly garish (29)

Hogarth's power as a colourist and as a painter of effects of light (30) a masterpiece of lighting (31)

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the tendency to overcrowding which was to mar so much of Hogarth's later work (32)

vigorous drawing and some fine effects of light and space (32)

the lighting is admirable, the composition simple and the characterisation subtly restrained (33)

the lack of taste in painting tears in the lady's eyes (33)

destroyed the sincerity of a well-drawn and well-arranged composition (33)

has anticipated impressionism in ignoring structure and putting down light, shadow and colour only (34)

bold brush-strokes exactly suit the coarse and crafty character (34)

6. Answer the questions to the text

1.Why is W. Hogarth called “the father of satirical caricatures and moral paintings”?

2.What was the most essential thing in art for Hogarth?

3.What influenced Hogarth's views on art and life?

4.Who was Hogarth's audience? Whom did he paint for?

5.What are the genres Hogarth worked in?

6.What masters influenced the painter's style and technique?

7.What was Hogarth's greatest gift that he trained all his life?

8.What is typical Hogarth's palette?

9.Why was Hogarth sometimes criticized?

10.How does the engraving 'The Bathos' characterize the mind and imagination of the painter?

Text 2.

George Stubbs (1725 - 1806)

Biography

This new and more realistic treatment of the sky is a characteristic also of the works of George Stubbs (1725-1806), who was much younger than Hogarth. Stubbs was the most artistic of the animal painters of the century. The demand for their work was the natural outcome of the tastes of the country gentlemen of the day.

Stubbs was born in Liverpool, the son of a currier and leather merchant. Information on his life up to age thirty-five is sparse, relying almost entirely on notes made by fellow artist Ozias Humphry towards the end of Stubbs's life. Stubbs worked at his father's trade until he was 15 or 16.

After his father's death in 1741, Stubbs was briefly apprenticed to a Lancashire painter and engraver named Hamlet Winstanley, but he soon left as he objected to the work of copying to which he was set. Thereafter as an artist he was self-taught. In the 1740s he worked as a portrait painter in the North of England and from about 1745 to 1751 he studied human anatomy at York County Hospital. He had had a passion for anatomy from his childhood, and one

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of his earliest surviving works is a set of illustrations for a textbook on midwifery which was published in 1751.

In 1754 Stubbs visited Italy. Forty years later he told Ozias Humphry that his motive for going to Italy was, "to convince himself that nature was and is always superior to art whether Greek or Roman, and having renewed this conviction he immediately resolved upon returning home". In 1756 he rented a farmhouse in the village of Horkstow, Lincolnshire, and spent 18 months dissecting horses, assisted by his common-law wife, Mary Spencer. He moved to London in about 1759 and in 1766 published The anatomy of the Horse. The original drawings are now in the collection of the Royal Academy.

Even before his book was published, Stubbs's drawings were seen by leading aristocratic patrons, who recognised that his work was more accurate than that of earlier horse painters such as James Seymour, Peter Tillemans and John Wootton. In 1759 the 3rd Duke of Richmond commissioned three large pictures from him, and his career was soon secure. By 1763 he had produced works for several more dukes and other lords and was able to buy a house in Marylebone, a fashionable part of London, where he lived for the rest of his life.

His most famous work is probably Whistlejacket, a painting of a prancing horse commissioned by the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, which is now in the National Gallery in London. This and two other paintings carried out for Rockingham break with convention in having plain backgrounds. Throughout the 1760s he produced a wide range of individual and group portraits of horses, sometimes accompanied by hounds. He often painted horses with their grooms, whom he always painted as individuals. Meanwhile, he also continued to accept commissions for portraits of people, including some group portraits. From 1761 to 1776 he exhibited at the Society of Artists of Great Britain, but in 1775 he switched his allegiance to the recently founded but already more prestigious Royal Academy of Arts.

Stubbs also painted more exotic animals including lions, tigers, giraffes, monkeys, and rhinoceroses, which he was able to observe in private menageries.

His painting of a kangaroo was the first glimpse of this animal for many 18th-century Britons. He became preoccupied with the theme of a wild horse threatened by a lion and produced several variations on this theme. These and other works became well known at the time through engravings of Stubbs's work, which appeared in increasing numbers in the 1770s and 1780s.

Stubbs also painted historical pictures, but these are much less well regarded. From the late 1760s he produced some work on enamel. In the 1770s Josiah Wedgwood developed a new and larger type of enamel panel at Stubbs's request. Stubbs hoped to achieve commercial success with his paintings in enamel, but the venture left him in debt. Also in the 1770s he painted single portraits of dogs for the first time, while also receiving an increasing number of commissions to paint hunts with their packs of hounds. He remained active into his old age. In the 1780s he produced a pastoral series called Haymakers and

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Reapers, and in the early 1790s he enjoyed the patronage of the Prince of Wales, whom he painted on horseback in 1791. His last project, begun in 1795, was A comparative anatomical exposition of the structure of the human body with that of a tiger and a common fowl, fifteen engravings from which appeared between 1804 and 1806. The project was left unfinished upon Stubbs's death at the age of 81 on 10 July 1806, in London.

Style of painting. Works

Stubbs' best work, such as his group of Lord and Lady Melbourne with Sir Ralph and Mr. John Milbanke is on a very high level of merit. All the poses are easy, the most striking being that of Lady Melbourne upon whom also the most brilliant light is concentrated. A finer example could not be found of composition inspired by perception. The curves of the horses' backs naturally lead the eye on one to another and make a graceful linear pattern; and it is an unerring perception of values of light and shade that has inspired these lively silhouettes of light and dark. The atmosphere of sun and mist gives the eye a quiet satisfaction. Indeed for luminosity and for the discrimination of tonevalues. Stubbs is only equalled among his contemporaries by Wilson, Gainsborough and Reynolds at their best.

However, Stubbs was not always regarded as a great artist. In his own day he was considered to be a mere horse painter, a second class subject in the eyes of the art establishment. Equestrian art, which was included within the genre of 'sporting art', was looked down upon by the critics and connoisseurs, probably due to its rural patronage. As it was the hunting, shooting and racing gentry who were Stubbs' greatest patrons, he tended to be overlooked as a serious artist. However, time strips away all prejudice about an artist's achievements and in the 20th century his reputation was firmly re-assessed to establish him as as one of the greatest masters of the 18th century.

George Stubbs' subjects may reflect the romantic idealism of their age but they are lifted above the sentimental by their skilful composition and intense observation which generate the gravitas that marks all great art. In the 1760's Stubbs painted a series of about ten pictures of Mares and Foals that were set against traditional views of the English countryside. 'Mares and Foals in a River Landscape' is one of the best of the series. The mares greet one another in a dignified silence while the foals feed from their mothers. These noble creatures are completely at ease in their peaceful landscape.

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