The Punishment Inflicted on Lemuel Gulliver

"The Punishment Inflicted on Lemuel Gulliver," created by William Hogarth in 1726, is a potent example of 18th-century visual satire executed through the intricate mediums of etching and engraving. Classified as a print, this work did not illustrate a scene from Jonathan Swift’s newly published Gulliver’s Travels; rather, Hogarth fabricated an event to serve as a satirical vehicle, using the celebrated character to lampoon the contemporary political climate and the reception of Swift’s own cutting social critique.

The composition centers on a group of prominent men subjecting Gulliver to the titular punishment. Hogarth often employed such compositions involving assemblies of men to represent broader institutional failure, corruption, and vice. As a master of graphic arts, he utilized the accessibility of prints to widely distribute his sharp commentary among London’s intellectual and literate circles, firmly establishing his reputation as a definitive social critic.

This particular impression, residing in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, represents the first state of two, offering a close look at the initial execution of the copper plate before further revisions were applied. The detailed line work exemplifies the technical precision required for successful 18th-century etching. The continuous scholarly interest in Hogarth’s output ensures that high-quality prints of such historically significant works remain essential study materials. Furthermore, many of Hogarth’s renowned satirical images, including this one, are frequently made available to the public through public domain art initiatives.