The Industrious 'Prentice Out of his Time and Married to his Master's Daughter: Industry and Idleness, plate 6

The Industrious 'Prentice Out of his Time and Married to his Master's Daughter: Industry and Idleness, plate 6 by William Hogarth is a complex narrative print dating from 1747. Executed in the combined mediums of etching and engraving, this work is the thematic and literal midpoint of Hogarth’s highly influential series, Industry and Idleness. This twelve-plate sequence, designed to be mass-produced and sold affordably, contrasts the success of the diligent apprentice, Francis Goodchild, with the ruin of his lazy counterpart, Tom Idle.

Plate six serves as a visual reward for Goodchild’s virtue. The scene depicts a jubilant domestic setting following Goodchild's successful completion of his apprenticeship and his marriage to his former master’s daughter. A group of men and women are gathered, celebrating the happy couple. Hogarth includes specific details that denote prosperity and domestic peace, such as the inclusion of various musical instruments, including a prominent drum, suggesting a festive and ordered home life. A small, loyal dog is positioned near the couple, completing the tableau of domestic bliss.

Hogarth designed these prints with clear didactic purpose, making moral choices easily readable for a wide urban audience. The sequential visual narrative allowed the 18th-century viewer to track the consequences of industry and idleness directly. This particular impression, secured in the demanding first state of four, offers an exceptional look at the artist's original vision. This key example of early British narrative prints is preserved in the comprehensive collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.