The Four Times of Day: Night

The Four Times of Day: Night by William Hogarth, created in 1738, is a significant engraving forming the final installment of the artist's celebrated four-part series satirizing daily life in 18th-century London. William Hogarth, a foundational figure in British art, utilized this sequence of popular prints to observe and critique the rapid social changes and moral failings prevalent across the United Kingdom. This work, classified specifically as a print, relies on the crisp, definitive lines of the engraving technique to capture the visual chaos of the nocturnal metropolis.

In this specific scene of The Four Times of Day: Night, Hogarth depicts the chaotic and often dangerous atmosphere of the city after dark. The composition is crowded with drunken figures, overturned carriages, and the general disorder that follows an evening of excessive revelry. The setting is specific-believed to be near the intersection of Charing Cross and St. Martin's Lane-lending weight to Hogarth's biting social critique of urban disorder.

The popularity of such detailed, narrative prints allowed for wide distribution of Hogarth's moral lessons across 18th-century society. The enduring quality of his masterworks ensures that high-resolution images of these prints are frequently available in the public domain today. This fine example of Hogarth's powerful graphic satire is housed within the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art.