The Industrious 'Prentice Alderman of London, the Idle One Brought Before Him & Impeached by his Accomplice: Industry and Idleness, plate 10

The Industrious 'Prentice Alderman of London, the Idle One Brought Before Him & Impeached by his Accomplice: Industry and Idleness, plate 10 by William Hogarth, dating from 1747, is a crucial image from the artist’s renowned series illustrating the parallel fates of two apprentices. This original impression, classified as the first state of two, was produced through the painstaking process of etching and engraving, highlighting the meticulous detail Hogarth brought to his narrative prints.

The scene serves as the climax of the moralizing tale. The virtuous apprentice, Francis Goodchild, has achieved civic prominence and is now seated as an Alderman, presiding over a court densely packed with a crowd of onlookers and officials. Before him, the idle and dissolute Tom Idle has been arrested and is formally impeached by his own collaborator. This tableau starkly contrasts the ultimate reward of industry with the inevitable punishment for vice, a theme central to 18th-century Georgian morality.

Hogarth uses the environment to emphasize the institutional power now wielded by Goodchild, contrasting his dignified status with the utter degradation of Idle. As a masterwork of English graphic satire, this piece functions both as political commentary and a widely accessible cautionary tale. The classification as a print allowed for mass distribution, helping Hogarth disseminate his sequential narratives throughout London society.

This significant work resides within the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, demonstrating the lasting cultural importance of Hogarth’s graphic output. The power of the image and the universality of its ethical lesson ensure that, today, high-quality prints remain widely studied, often entering the public domain to facilitate academic research into the period’s social history and satirical traditions.