The First Stage of Cruelty (The Four Stages of Cruelty)

The First Stage of Cruelty (The Four Stages of Cruelty) by William Hogarth, executed in 1751, is the opening plate of a didactic series designed to illustrate the moral decline caused by the mistreatment of animals. This powerful work of social satire and commentary is rendered through the meticulous technique of etching and engraving, representing the first state of two finalized prints. Hogarth, a highly influential printmaker and social critic of the Georgian era, created this series not for elite collectors, but specifically for mass distribution. He intended the cheap, accessible prints to function as a visual lesson, promoting compassion and advocating against senseless cruelty toward animals among the working classes.

The scene captures the initial acts of violence committed by the central anti-hero, Tom Nero, as a boy on the streets of London. Hogarth surrounds Nero with various gruesome vignettes of youthful malice. In the immediate foreground, Nero is seen tormenting a group of chickens, while the background details reveal equally harsh treatment directed toward household pets and farm animals. One boy brutally injures a dog, while another swings a cat tied to a rope. By documenting the gradual escalation of cruelty, from minor abuse of dogs and cats to eventual murder, Hogarth established a clear visual argument linking animal abuse with human depravity.

This piece, like the others in the sequence, cemented Hogarth's role not just as a chronicler of 18th-century English life, but as an early advocate for humanitarian reform. The work is particularly valued for its raw depiction of urban life and its moralizing intent. This technically superb and historically significant example of Georgian prints resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Today, reproductions of The First Stage of Cruelty are frequently made available through public domain initiatives, ensuring this important critique remains accessible for study.