William Hogarth - «John Wilkes»
When Mr. Wilkes was the second time brought from the Tower to Westminster Hall, Hogarth skulked behind him in a corner of the Gallery of the Court of Common Pleas; and while the Chief Justice Pratt, with the eloquence and courage of old Rome, was enforcing the great principles of Magna Charta and the English Constitution, the Painter was busily employed in the present Caricature; which was soon after published, "drawn from the Life by William Hogarth;" and it must be allowed to be an excellent compound Caricature, or a Caricatura of what Nature had already caricatured.
Wilkes was in the zenith of his popularity; and the accompaniments are well suited to the occasion; consisting of the Cap of Liberty, which is twirling on a stick, and N.17 and 45 of the North Briton lying on the table; and so great was the demand for this Portrait, that nearly 4000 copies were disposed of in a very short time.
Pour citer cette ressource :
William Hogarth - John Wilkes, La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), juin 2013. Consulté le 22/11/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/arts/peinture/william-hogarth-john-wilkes