The Funeral of Chrystom & Marcella vindicating herself (Six Illustrations for Don Quixote)

"The Funeral of Chrystom & Marcella vindicating herself (Six Illustrations for Don Quixote)" by William Hogarth, created in 1756, is a key piece in the artist's relatively small but impactful body of literary illustration. This work is one of six prints Hogarth produced based on Miguel de Cervantes’s classic novel, focusing on episodes that allowed him to explore themes of social absurdity and misguided idealism, characteristic of his broader satirical output.

Hogarth executed this print using the demanding process of etching and engraving, resulting in the fine detail visible in this impression, classified as the third state of three. The scene dramatically captures the funeral of the shepherd Chrystom, who dies of heartbreak after being rejected by the beautiful Marcella. The composition centers on the moment of death and resolution, showing various men and women gathered for the service. Marcella, standing apart, utilizes the occasion to vindicate herself, asserting her autonomy and refuting the traditional societal expectation that she should mourn or marry.

Though renowned primarily for his original sequential narratives like A Rake’s Progress, Hogarth brought his singular graphic style and psychological depth to these literary subjects. He utilized the tragic gravity of the funeral setting and the emotional intensity surrounding death to underscore the conflicts between individual liberty and communal judgment presented in Don Quixote. This particular print series demonstrates Hogarth's capacity for complex figure grouping and narrative delivery in the medium of prints. This historical print resides in the esteemed collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.