William Hogarth, Gin Lane, 1751, etching and engraving; third state of three, 389 x 322 mm, New York
William Hogarth, Gin Lane, 1751, etching and engraving; third state of three, 389 x 322 mm, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the gift of Sarah Lazarus, 1891Massive consumption of alcohol and extreme drunkenness became pervasive in London in the 18th century. The political consequences of this and the attempts at legislation to remedy the problem have been compared to the drug situation in our own times. This print, known as ‘Gin Lane’, was created in this context. Hogarth uses satire to offer a scathing view of the problem. The city and its dwellers are ravaged by the effects of an excess of drinking. The woman in the foreground ignores the peril of her child; because of the effects of the alcohol, she can worry only about the snuff, or ground tobacco, that she’s about to take. Through an opening on the broken side of a building, to the right, there is a dead man hanging also, an impaled child, and a woman being put into a coffin.This print was sold and showed in shop windows. It was very well known and influential and the passing of legislation known as The Gin Act, in 1751, which managed to reduce the problem of excessive alcohol consumption. Hogarth’s prints were also known outside of England: prints allowed for wide dissemination of images. -- source link
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