Répertoire International d'Iconographie Musicale

Strolling actresses dressing in a barn

Hogarth, William (1697-1764)

Item type:

Date of creation:

1738

Technique / Medium:

etching and engraving

Item location

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
[Museum inv. no.: 29.38.3]45.5 x 57 cm; second engraving state of four

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
[Museum inv. no.: 91.1.121]45 x 57 cm; fourth engraving state of four

British Museum
[Museum inv. no.: 1857,0509.12]44.5 x 56.3 cm

Victoria and Albert Museum
[Museum inv. no.: DYCE.2747]

National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC)
[Museum inv. no.: 1944.5.63]sheet: 46.7 × 62.8 cm, State ii/iv

Description

Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn was a painting from 1738 by British artist William Hogarth. It was reproduced as an engraving and issued with Four Times of the Day as a five print set in the same year. The painting depicts a company of actresses preparing for their final performance before the troupe is disbanded as a result of the Licensing Act 1737. Brought in as a result of John Gay's Beggar's Opera of 1728, which had linked Robert Walpole with the notorious criminal Jonathan Wild, the Licensing Act made it compulsory for new plays to be approved by the Lord Chamberlain, and, more importantly for the characters depicted, closed any non-patent theatres. The majority of the painting was completed before the Act was passed in 1737, but its passing into law was no surprise and it was the work of a moment for Hogarth to insert a reference to the Act itself into the picture. The engraving was first published on 25 March 1738, along with Four Times of the Day. The painting was sold at auction along with the original paintings for A Harlot's Progress, A Rake's Progress and Four Times of the Day in January 1745, but was destroyed in a fire at Littleton House near Staines in 1874. (Wikipedia)