The History of Satire

Hogarth has fuelled my recent projects but today I really was given the opportunity to think about satire and its uses! Satire might have been of particularly popular in the 17th century and now in political illustration; but do we have a connection to it still?

William Hogarth - The Harlots Progress (Plate 4)

Hogarth was arguably the founder of Satire. He began by exposing the life of the individual through his controversial prints, his legacy was continued in the ever growing fame of the print shops. Hogarth knew the world he wanted to depict. He knew the taverns and the brothels as well as the figures within them. These figures feature greatly within his work which you could argue had a similar effect to photos of celebrities on popular culture today. The ability to see those who people recognised held within them a unique special that was void from high art. Here the fate of Moll on the harlot’s progress is illustrated shockingly. She has died at the age of 23! yet those surrounding her coffin are entirely preoccupied with their own interests. In a word of increasing instability the market of prostitution seemed ever more attractive to young women but with uncontrollable illnesses such as syphilis raging through the cities, life expectancy was low. However it seemed to Hogarth if the population was in denial.

One thing I particularly like about Hogarth is how he created thumbnail sketches. He would actually walk around and when he saw a figure he felt would fit well into one of his prints he would literally draw them on his thumb!

Martin Rawson – The Prime Minster

Rawson demonstrates a few traits of modern satirical work that I have noticed. First of all his focus seems to have moved from a generalisation of the populace and exposition of a wider problem to that of a singular figure. This was explored by Thomas Rowlandson who worked shortly after Hogarth, yet he also dabbled in a wider satirical message. He also uses the ‘Mickey Mouse Procedure’ which has been effectively used since Rowlandson; however not names until much more recently hence ‘Mickey Mouse’. Mickey Mouse is instantly recognisable by the iconic ears, usually satire involves the exaggeration of the person. This means that the figurative aspect is almost lost so my selecting ‘key features’ of a person the illustration can still remain recognisable. So here Tony Blair (outdated I know!) is recognisable by the ears and mouth!

Satirical illustrators seem to be able to get away with so much more that couldn’t be said in words. However satirical images have changed in value. They are now not considered fine pieces of work and now commercial artwork. This is probably due to hundreds of factors! I will leave that one up to you I thought it was great to think about!!