The Four Times of Day: Morning

The Four Times of Day: Morning by William Hogarth, executed in 1738, is a satirical print that forms the opening part of his celebrated four-plate series detailing the cycle of daily life and manners in 18th-century London. The work, created as a meticulous engraving, captures the first moments of the day, contrasting the cold, purifying light of dawn with the untidy reality of urban existence.

Hogarth, a pivotal figure in British art and social commentary, utilized the highly reproducible medium of prints to widely distribute his moral and often humorous observations on Georgian society. Morning specifically satirizes pious hypocrisy and the lingering signs of nocturnal revelry. The scene, set in the area of Covent Garden, illustrates a prim, older woman making her way to church, carefully shielded from the chaos surrounding her: the remnants of a street brawl, the destitute figures, and the continuation of vice that has spilled over from the previous night’s activities.

As a master of graphic narrative, Hogarth employed the precise lines of engraving to pack the composition with dense, symbolic details that critique the moral disparity frequently found in the rapidly growing cities of the United Kingdom. The quality and accessibility of Hogarth’s original prints allowed his sharp critique of social norms to reach a broad audience. This particular impression of the work is housed in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, preserving its significance as an early example of social realism rendered through commercial prints. Historically important artworks like this are often studied globally, with some high-resolution images being made available through public domain initiatives.