William HogarthEnglish, 1697–1764Tailpiece, or the Bathos
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
William Hogarth was an English painter and engraver notorious for his biting political satire. He also discovered that artists could become independent of patronage by making engravings of their own paintings and selling them to the public. Hogarth created The Bathos toward the end of his life. It is considered one of the bleakest artworks of the 18th century because it depicts the Apocalypse without an afterlife. The Angel of Death even collapses in exhaustion after having destroyed the world. In his hand is an execution decree and around him lies a mass of broken objects.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1314.1930
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — CC0
Meanwhile, in the life of William Hogarth
The whole life1712–1764 · Workplace
London
25 – 26 October 1764
His last day in Leicester Fields
On 25 October 1764 Hogarth, weak but cheerful, was taken from his villa in Chiswick to his home in Leicester Fields; he was still working, retouching “The Bench”. On 26 October he received a letter from Benjamin Franklin and drafted a reply; he boasted of eating a pound of beefsteaks for dinner, and that night, after suddenly vomiting, died in the arms of his servant Mary Lewis; John Nichols named an aneurysm as the cause, Horace Walpole “a dropsy of his breast”.
26 October 1764
Died
