William Hogarth – Chorus of Singers.
William Hogarth – Chorus of Singers.
The engraving shows a rehearsal for the oratorio Judith, written by William Huggins with music by William Defesch.
It was performed in February 1732 at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, after a postponement due to the ‘Misconduct and Pretended sickness of Cecilia Young, who had ingaged for the Part of Judith’. The Conductor, whose agitated movements have shaken off his periwig, conducts from a paper inscribed Judith: An Oratorio or Sacred Drama. Sadly the piece was a failure and the manuscript has since been lost. Paulson 127.
William Hogarth
William Hogarth, (born November 10, 1697, London, England—died October 26, 1764, London). The first great English-born artist to attract admiration abroad. Best known for his MORAL and satirical engravings and paintings—e.g., A Rake’s Progress (eight scenes,1733).
His attempts to build a reputation as a history painter and portraitist, however, met with financial disappointment. His aesthetic theories had more influence in Romantic literature than in painting.
