Cruelty in Perfection
Woodcut
1750 (printed)
1750 (printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Woodcutting was the first technique to be used in Europe for printing on paper. It was developed from the practice of printing patterns on textiles from woodblocks. Woodcuts were cheap to produce, which made them suitable as a medium for mass communication.
Hogarth deliberately used the technique here to ensure that the print was accessible to as large an audience as possible. This is one of a series of four prints entitled The Four Stages of Cruelty, exploring the issue of human cruelty both to humans and to animals.
Hogarth deliberately used the technique here to ensure that the print was accessible to as large an audience as possible. This is one of a series of four prints entitled The Four Stages of Cruelty, exploring the issue of human cruelty both to humans and to animals.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Woodcut on paper |
| Brief description | 'Cruelty in Perfection' from William Hogarth's series 'The Four Stages of Cruelty'. Woodcut on paper by John Bell, after Hogarth's design. 1750. |
| Physical description | 'Cruelty in Perfection' part of Hogarth's series 'The Four Stages of Cruelty'. Engraving print on paper. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Woodcuts were cheaper to make than other kinds of print, so the engraver William Hogarth, hoping to expand his market, asked John Bell to cut this image in wood. Hogarth believed that style should reflect subject matter and Bell’s broad, energetic lines effectively match the brutality of the story told here. Hogarth eventually found the cost of making the woodcuts higher than expected and abandoned the idea.(August 2019) |
| Production | See a version of this subject etched by Hogarth, DYCE.2778. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Woodcutting was the first technique to be used in Europe for printing on paper. It was developed from the practice of printing patterns on textiles from woodblocks. Woodcuts were cheap to produce, which made them suitable as a medium for mass communication. Hogarth deliberately used the technique here to ensure that the print was accessible to as large an audience as possible. This is one of a series of four prints entitled The Four Stages of Cruelty, exploring the issue of human cruelty both to humans and to animals. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Lambert, Susan. Prints : Art and Techniques. London : V&A Publications, 2001. p 10-11 : ill. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.603-1985 |
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| Record created | November 15, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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