A Rake's Progress
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A Rake's Progress is a series of the paintings and engravings by William Hogarth made from 1733 to 1735. The eight pictures show the decline and fall of Tom Rakewell, the spendthrift son and heir of a rich merchant, who comes to London, wastes all his money on luxurious living, whoring and gambling, and as a consequence is imprisoned in the Fleet Prison and ultimately Bedlam. The original paintings are currently in the collection of the Soane Museum in London.
In the first two paintings of the series, Hogarth depicts high fashionable society with tailors, musicians and riders. The second painting shows men dressed in expensive costumes. A wild party in the third and a picture of a gambling house in the sixth illustrate another, seedier aspect of English society at the time, while the fourth, seventh and eighth paintings (showing arrest, prison and bedlam, respectively) give a glimpse of the world of law enforcement and mental institutions. Disturbing are some of the details such as the fashionably dressed women in the last painting who have come to the asylum during the day as a social occasion.
Igor Stravinsky's 1951 opera The Rake's Progress, with a libretto by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is loosely based on the story from Hogarth's paintings. In 1961, David Hockney created his own print edition version of The Rake's Progress and has also created stage designs for the Stravinsky Opera.
 Plate 1 - Funeral Preparation |
 Plate 2 - Opulence |
 Plate 3 - Orgy |
 Plate 4 - Arrest |
 Plate 5 - Marriage |
 Plate 6 - Gambling Den |
 Plate 7 - Prison |
 Plate 8 - Bedlam |
