Chairing the Members, Plate IV: Four Prints of an Election

Chairing the Members, Plate IV: Four Prints of an Election by William Hogarth, executed in 1758, concludes the artist's monumental satirical series documenting the chaos and corruption endemic to 18th-century British parliamentary elections. Hogarth utilized the detailed processes of etching and engraving to create this print, which captures the riotous celebratory aftermath of the vote. This particular impression represents the third state of three, signifying the culmination of technical refinement within the printmaking process.

The composition vividly illustrates the traditional, rowdy custom of "chairing" the successful candidates through the streets. A dense crowd surges forward, comprised of boisterous men and women engaged in various forms of drunken revelry and physical conflict. Hogarth fills the scene with absurd, pointed details characteristic of his moralizing art, highlighting the moral decay surrounding public politics. In the foreground, the chaos spills onto the street level where pigs roam amidst collapsing platforms and drunken figures, symbolically linking the base instincts of the crowd to the political maneuvering.

Hogarth’s satirical eye offered a scathing commentary on the venality and public disorder inherent in contemporary British politics. This final plate critiques the physical danger and sheer moral bankruptcy that accompanied popular political triumph. This significant work is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, preserving a vital example of 18th-century graphic satire. As a widely studied image from the period, high-quality reproductions of these prints often enter the public domain, allowing broader accessibility for studying Hogarth’s profound observations on society and governance.