A Harlot's Progress: pl.5

A Harlot's Progress: pl.5 by William Hogarth, created in 1732, is a defining element of the artist's seminal narrative series and a key example of British satirical printmaking from the period 1726 to 1750. This work was executed using the demanding techniques of etching and engraving, allowing Hogarth to achieve both detail and depth necessary for his complex moral narratives. Hogarth pioneered the "Modern Moral Subject" with this series, detailing the catastrophic downfall of the protagonist, Moll Hackabout, whose story served as a cautionary tale for 18th-century society.

Plate 5 depicts the culmination of Moll's decline: her imprisonment in Bridewell. Hogarth’s composition is crowded and chaotic, illustrating the despair, sickness, and rampant depravity endemic to institutional confinement. The setting is filled with carefully observed details that enhance the grim realism, showing fighting inmates, figures involved in forced labor, and the cynical oversight of the authorities. The use of engraving allows for sharp lines and highly contrasted shading, emphasizing the squalor of the environment and the moral decay observed by the artist.

Hogarth’s intent extended beyond mere depiction; the work functions as a powerful social critique. By illustrating the fate of Moll, Hogarth examined how poverty, exploitation, and lack of social structure led inevitably to crime and misery in metropolitan life. The success of the complete series, particularly the quality of these narrative prints, established Hogarth as the foremost satirist of his era and fundamentally reshaped the British art market by proving the viability of popular art created for a mass audience.

This piece of British cultural history resides in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, where it helps document the trajectory of 18th-century graphic arts. As an influential historical artwork, this etching is frequently cited in art historical texts, and high-quality images of these significant prints are widely accessible for educational use within the public domain.