Characters and Caricaturas

Characters and Caricaturas by William Hogarth, executed in 1743, is a sophisticated etching presented here in its rare first state of two. This influential print stands as one of Hogarth’s most significant theoretical statements on visual representation, formally distinguishing between natural human characters and exaggerated caricaturas. Classified as a print, the work utilizes the precise lines afforded by the etching process to compare two approaches to depicting the human face.

Hogarth created this visual manifesto partly in response to the growing popularity of imported Italian caricature, which he viewed as lazy, destructive, and lacking artistic merit. The piece features two distinct groups of faces placed opposite one another, illustrating this aesthetic contrast. On the left side, detailed profiles of men and women depict true character studies, based on careful observation of human anatomy and individual personality. In contrast, the right side presents grotesque and distorted caricatures, demonstrating arbitrary exaggeration. Some of these highly distorted faces were borrowed by Hogarth from historical sources, including drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, to prove that even great masters sometimes indulged in the trivial exercise of caricature.

The primary function of this work was to serve as the subscription ticket for his ambitious print series, Marriage A-la-Mode. By creating this detailed document, Hogarth argued that the artist’s duty was to observe nature accurately rather than resorting to arbitrary distortion. This powerful examination of portraiture ethics is a seminal example of 18th-century English social satire and remains a foundational image in the study of Western prints. This fine impression resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, helping preserve the legacy of an artist whose works are frequently encountered in the public domain today.