An Election Entertainment, Plate I: Four Prints of an Election

An Election Entertainment, Plate I: Four Prints of an Election by William Hogarth, dating from 1755, is a masterful example of eighteenth-century social commentary rendered through etching and engraving. This impression, the eighth and final state of the plate, showcases Hogarth’s precision in capturing complex, densely populated scenes. The work serves as the initiating image in Hogarth's famous four-part satirical series addressing the rampant corruption and absurdity of British parliamentary elections, a pivotal subject in the artist’s oeuvre.

Hogarth centers the composition on a raucous feast hosted by the Whig party candidate, illustrating the extreme measures taken to sway voters. The scene is saturated with visual jokes concerning gluttony, violence, and manipulation. Numerous figures, primarily working-class men, are engaged in aggressive drinking and chaotic party behavior, their participation often bought with food and ale rather than genuine political conviction. The limited inclusion of women in the chaotic room often highlights the secondary roles they played in official political machinations or their symbolic presence as indicators of moral decay. The print documents the intense pressures and societal disorder inherent in the mid-eighteenth-century political climate, functioning both as historical record and biting satire of the election process.

As a leading example of the artist’s output in the genre of moral subjects, this piece demonstrates Hogarth’s skill in using the medium of prints to disseminate social criticism widely. Given the age and historical significance of the original, high-resolution scans of this work are often available for educational purposes in the public domain. This particular impression of An Election Entertainment, Plate I is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is classified as a crucial piece for understanding the history of graphic art and British political satire.