The Idle 'Prentice Turned Away and Sent to Sea: Industry and Idleness, plate 5

The Idle 'Prentice Turned Away and Sent to Sea: Industry and Idleness, plate 5 by William Hogarth is a powerful example of 18th-century moralizing prints, created in 1747. This influential work, utilizing the meticulous techniques of etching and engraving, serves as the fifth installment in Hogarth's seminal series illustrating the stark consequences of vice versus virtue in Georgian London. Cataloged specifically as the rare first state of three, the print demonstrates the precision required by the artist to convey complex narrative scenes through detailed line work and shading.

The piece vividly depicts the culmination of the idle apprentice's decline, showing him being forcefully turned away from the shore and prepared for a harsh life at sea-an 18th-century form of punishment or forced labor often seen as a final chance for redemption. Hogarth employs cutting social satire, a hallmark of his style, to frame this dramatic moment. The composition features groups of distraught men involved in the painful farewell, set against the background of ships and various boats. This maritime setting underscores the print's thematic focus on exile and harsh reality, reinforcing the moral lesson that failure to embrace industry leads to severe, life-altering consequences.

As part of a highly influential tradition of visual narrative, this work provided moral instruction to a broad public audience concerned with societal standards of behavior. Hogarth’s skill is evident in the expressive figures and the careful construction of depth achieved through the dual mediums of etching and engraving. Classified as a foundational example of British graphic arts, this specific impression of the print, The Idle 'Prentice Turned Away and Sent to Sea: Industry and Idleness, plate 5, is held in the renowned collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, preserving a significant piece of historical and satirical commentary.