Hogarth used familiar places in his native London as settings
for many of his prints, mapping his version of the capital
and its characters. The prints were often displayed in public
coffeehouses throughout the city. Viewed together, these recreated
spaces form a topography of the modern urban experience, highlighting
its moral ambiguity, potential for evil, and love of public
spectacle-themes still relevant in Chicago today. The complexity
and humor of Hogarth's prints exemplify his belief that "everything
requisite to compleat the consummate painter and sculptor
may be had with the utmost ease without going out of London
at this time."
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