William Hogarth, Serjeant Painter to His Majesty

William Hogarth, Serjeant Painter to His Majesty by William Hogarth is a significant print dating from 1764. The medium is pure engraving, meticulously employed by the artist to ensure the wide circulation and lasting impact of his images. This specific impression is classified as the seventh and final state of the plate, a critical detail in print classification that demonstrates the extensive revisions and refinements Hogarth applied before deeming the work complete. This painstaking process underscores Hogarth’s precise control over the production of his widely distributed prints.

The composition centers on a male figure, clearly identifiable as an artist or, perhaps satirically, a comment on the formal role of the Serjeant Painter, a ceremonial position often reserved for established talents. The setting emphasizes the practical physicality of the working studio. Prominently featured are the tools of the trade: the large easel supporting a canvas, a substantial wooden palette loaded with pigments, and various brushes held in hand or arrayed nearby. This focus on the practical objects of painting grounds the image in the material realities of 18th-century art production.

As one of Hogarth’s later works, the piece maintains the sharp attention to detail and characterization that defined his career. While the artist is renowned primarily for his famous moral narrative sequences and oils, his prints guaranteed that his work served as lasting social commentary. This essential engraving resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s comprehensive collection of British prints. The status of this historical artwork in the public domain ensures its ongoing global accessibility for study and appreciation.