A Rake’s Progress
William Hogarth (1697-1764)
A Rake's Progress (1733)
The eight paintings in William Hogarth's A Rake's Progress (1733) tell
the story of Tom Rakewell, a young man who follows a path of vice and
self-destruction after inheriting a fortune from his miserly father. It
was Hogarth's second 'modern moral subject', and followed the hugely
successful A Harlot's Progress (1730).
The series is principally known through the engravings made by Hogarth
from his paintings in 1735. In an advertisement published in November
1734 Hogarth invited potential subscribers to visit his studio in
Leicester Fields (now Leicester Square) to see the paintings before
subscribing to a set of engravings.
The paintings were in the possession of William Beckford until Soane
bought them at auction in 1802 for 570 guineas (Mrs Soane bid for them
at Christie's on her husband's behalf). The canvasses of A Harlot's
Progress, also owned by Beckford, had been destroyed in a fire at
Fonthill Splendens, Wiltshire, in 1755.
The paintings were originally hung at Soane's country villa, Pitzhanger
Manor, Ealing, but were moved back to Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1810. In
1824 Soane re-hung them in his new Picture Room at the rear of No.14
Lincoln's Inn Fields together with the recently acquired Election
series.
1. The Heir
![painting - The Heir](http://www.soane.org/u/page/1jsw_heir.jpg)
The
scene introduces our hero, Tom Rakewell, who has inherited a fortune
following the death of his miserly father. Tom is pictured in his
father's house which is beginning to yield up its hoarded wealth.
Tom is attempting to pay-off a servant girl, Sarah Young. She holds a
gold ring, revealing that Tom has seduced her with the promise of
marriage. Behind Tom, a lawyer, employed to compile an inventory of his
dead father's estate, is stealing gold coins. A starved cat searches for
food in a chest full of silver, whilst servants find treasure hidden in
the fireplace and behind wall hangings.
2. The Levee
![painting - The Levee](http://www.soane.org/u/page/2jsw_levee.jpg)
The
second scene sees Tom in his new palatial lodgings where he is holding a
morning levée in the manner of a fashionable gentleman.
Amongst the assorted visitors who have come to offer their services is a
jockey, a dancing-master (with violin), a music teacher (believed to be
based on Hogarth's great rival Handel), a landscape gardener, a poet
and a tailor.
On the wall behind hang some of Tom's recent acquisitions three Italian
paintings - Hogarth was known to dislike the fashion for acquiring Old
Master works (which he branded 'dark pictures') at the expense of
paintings by British artists.
3. The Orgy
![painting - The Orgy](http://www.soane.org/u/page/3jsw_orgy.jpg)
It
is three o'clock in the morning and Tom, drunk, is enjoying the
attentions of prostitutes at the Rose Tavern in London's Covent Garden. A
night watchman's staff and lantern lie beside him (souvenirs of a rowdy
night in the surrounding streets). Two of the ladies are relieving Tom
of his watch.
In the foreground a woman is undressing ready to perform poses on the pewter dish that is being carried into the chamber.
4. The Arrest
![painting - The Arrest](http://www.soane.org/u/page/4jsw_arrest.jpg)
Tom
has squandered his fortune and narrowly escapes arrest for debt on the
way to a party at St James's Palace. It is Queen Caroline's birthday,
also St David's Day, and the two bailiffs wear leeks in their hats to
mark the occasion.
Tom is saved by Sarah Young, now a milliner, who pays his bail money
with her meagre earnings. A street urchin steals Tom's gold-topped cane,
whilst a lamplighter, distracted by the commotion, accidentally pours
oil on to Tom's wig.
5. The Marriage
![painting - The Marriage](http://www.soane.org/u/page/5jsw_marriage.jpg)
Impoverished,
but accustomed to a life of luxury and excess, Tom decides to marry an
old hag for her fortune. The shabby setting is Marylebone church, which
at this time was on the northern fringes of London and well known as a
venue for clandestine weddings.
Tom is clearly more interested in the pretty young maid then his
one-eyed bride. In the background Sarah Young and her mother are being
prevented from entering the church.
Two dogs in the foreground (one of which has lost an eye) present a grotesque parody of the marriage.
6. The Gaming House
![painting - The Gaming House](http://www.soane.org/u/page/6jsw_gaminghouse.jpg)
Tom, wigless and cursing his fate, has gambled away his second fortune.
The setting is White's Club in Soho. Tom is not the only loser - a
dejected highwayman (with pistol and mask protruding from his pocket)
sits by the fire, and a nobleman, eager to continue playing, pleads for
an advance from a moneylender.
The gamblers are oblivious to the fact that the club is on the point of
destruction. Only the two croupiers appear to have noticed the smoke
curling in from behind the panelling.
7. The Prison
![painting - The Prison](http://www.soane.org/u/page/7jsw_prison.jpg)
Tom
is now an inmate of the Fleet, London's celebrated debtors' prison.
Beside him lies the rejected script of a play he has written in the hope
of securing his freedom.
Other prisoners in the cell are trying similarly hopeless schemes. One
man has written a treatise on how to pay 'ye Debts of ye Nation', and
another is attempting to make 'fools' gold.
Tom, exhibiting the first signs of impending madness, has sunk into
despair. The beer-boy harasses him for payment whilst the gaoler demands
the settlement of his weekly bill. His wife scolds him for having
squandered her fortune.
Sarah Young, who is visiting with her child, has fainted from distress at the scene.
8. The Madhouse
![painting - The Madhouse](http://www.soane.org/u/page/8jsw_madhouse.jpg)
In the concluding scene Tom has descended into madness and is now in Bethlem Hospital or Bedlam as it was known.
He is surrounded by other inmates who are suffering various delusions.
These include a tailor, a musician, an astronomer and an archbishop. In
the door to one of the cells is a man who thinks he is a king - he is
naked and carries a straw crown and sceptre.
Like the real Bedlam, Hogarth's Madhouse is open to the public. Two
fashionable ladies have come to observe the poor suffering lunatics as
one of the sights of the town.
The ever-faithful Sarah Young sits, weeping, by Tom's side