London - Hogarth's engravings

William Hogarth (10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects". His engravings provide some of the best images of society life in London of the early 18th century.

A Rake's Progress is a series of eight paintings by 18th century English artist William Hogarth. The canvases were produced in 1732–33 then engraved and published in print form in 1735. The series shows the decline and fall of Tom Rakewell, the spendthrift son and heir of a rich merchant, who comes to London, wastes all his money on luxurious living, prostitution and gambling, and as a consequence is imprisoned in the Fleet Prison and ultimately Bedlam (from Wikipedia).

Plate 1 — The Young Heir Takes Possession Of The Miser's Effects

Plate 2 — Surrounded By Artists And Professors

Plate 3 — The Tavern Scene

Plate 4 — Arrested for Debt

Plate 5 — Marriage to an Old Maid

Plate 6 — Gaming House Scene

Plate 7 — The Prison Scene

Plate 8 — The Madhouse

In 1743–1745 Hogarth painted the six pictures of Marriage à-la-mode (National Gallery, London), a pointed skewering of upper class 18th century society. This moralistic warning shows the tragedy of an ill-considered marriage for money.