Masquerades and Operas, William Hogarth, 1724

Satire on the "bad taste of the town" (as described by hogarth, daily courant, 24. Ii. 1724); a composite street scene with a theatre on either side and an "academy of arts" (lord burlington's recently remodelled house in piccadilly) beyond; on the left, a fool and a devil are leading a crowd of masqueraders into the opera house in the haymarket from which hang a banner advertising an opera (based on bmsat 1768 with the singers cuzzoni, senesino and berenstadt) and a sign for "dr. Faux's [isaac fawkes] dexterity of hand", the impressario john james heidegger leans from an upper window; on the right, a crowd is flocking to see the pantomime "dr faustus"; in the centre, a woman pushes a wheelbarrow of waste paper including volumes of congreve, dryden, ottway, shakespeare and addison; the gate of the academy beyond is topped with statues of michelangelo, raphael and william kent, admired by three gentlemen. 1724 etching and engraving. Date: 1724. Dimensions: Height: 129 mm (image plate); Height: 25 mm (text plate); Width: 175 mm (image plate); Width: 171 mm (text plate). Medium: paper. Depicted People: John James Heidegger. Collection: British Museum. Masquerades and Operas (BM 1857,0509.13 1)