Hudibras Vanquish'd and Protected by Trulla (Plate 5: Illustrations to Samuel Butler's Hudibras) is an etching and engraving created by William Hogarth between 1725 and 1730. This piece is the fifth installment in a series commissioned to illustrate the popular satirical poem Hudibras (1663-1678) by Samuel Butler. Hogarth’s visual interpretation helped disseminate the narrative, which is widely understood as a commentary on the hypocrisy and folly of Puritans and Dissenters following the English Civil War. Hogarth excelled at translating complex satirical literature into vivid visual narratives, establishing himself as one of the foremost British artists of the early 18th century.
The print depicts the dramatic climax of the confrontation where the eponymous protagonist, the Presbyterian knight Hudibras, has been completely vanquished in combat. The composition focuses intently on the interaction between the central figures, portraying a striking reversal of conventional gender roles. Hudibras, consistently depicted by Hogarth as foolish and cowardly, is being actively defended and shielded from the surrounding chaotic crowd by the robust figure of Trulla. This work uses the fine lines and tonal depth characteristic of the etching and engraving processes, allowing for detailed characterization of the crowd and their raucous energy.
As one of Hogarth’s important early series of illustrated prints, this piece demonstrates the artist's developing skill in sequential narrative before his famous moralizing works like A Harlot’s Progress. This print, which features the dramatic interplay between various Men and Women characters central to the narrative, is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s extensive collection. As an historical artifact, the artwork is considered a significant document of early 18th-century British satire, and high-quality images of this work are commonly available in the public domain for study and reference.
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