Characters and Caricaturas

Characters and Caricaturas is a complex etching created by William Hogarth in 1743. This highly detailed print, executed as the second state of two, showcases Hogarth’s deep engagement with observational drawing and satire during the British Georgian period.

The medium of etching allowed Hogarth to achieve the precise and varied line work necessary to distinguish the multitude of human faces he presents. The work was initially designed as a subscription ticket for his acclaimed series Marriage A-la-Mode, but quickly evolved into a powerful visual manifesto defining the subtle yet critical difference between genuine character study and exaggerated caricature. Hogarth sought through this piece to establish himself as a serious moral observer, distinct from contemporary artists he viewed as merely producing grotesque exaggerations of the human form.

The composition features a dense grouping of numerous heads and faces, displaying a multitude of human profiles and expressions. By juxtaposing accurately rendered character types—intended to convey specific character traits—with far more exaggerated facial features, Hogarth visually debates the core principles of artistic representation. Many of the faces depicted are based on classical sculpture or historical portraiture, lending the print academic authority to his argument.

This definitive impression resides in the extensive collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a key example of the artist’s output in satirical prints. Today, high-resolution images and prints of this significant 18th-century graphic work are widely available through public domain sources, ensuring Hogarth’s influential theories on visual observation remain accessible.