Five Standing Muscovites (Aubry de La Mottraye's "Travels throughout Europe, Asia and into Part of Africa...," London, 1724, pl. 313)

Five Standing Muscovites (Aubry de La Mottraye's "Travels throughout Europe, Asia and into Part of Africa...," London, 1724, pl. 313) is an early example of printmaking by William Hogarth, dating to 1723-1724. Executed as an engraving, this piece represents the first state of two impressions, documenting the artist’s work as a professional illustrator before he achieved widespread fame as a satirical painter and moralist. The work was commissioned as Plate 313 for the two-volume English edition of the influential travelogue by Aubry de La Mottraye. This commission placed Hogarth firmly within the burgeoning field of historical and ethnographic prints dedicated to documenting global encounters during the Georgian era.

The subject matter depicts a group of five Muscovites, or Russian men, standing in traditional attire. These figures were likely based on sketches or descriptions recorded by La Mottraye during his extensive journeys across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Unlike Hogarth’s later, independently published series, this early work serves a purely documentary function, illustrating the specific cultural observations detailed in the accompanying travel literature. The depiction of the men adheres closely to the conventions of 18th-century ethnographic illustration. As a finely detailed copperplate engraving, the print showcases the technical mastery Hogarth possessed early in his career, producing high-quality prints for mass consumption within the published volume. This key historical print, classified as a standard print, resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is frequently available for study through public domain resources.