William Hogarth

First Stage of Cruelty: The Four Stages of Cruelty, Plate 1 (Tom Nero & the Cruelty of Unsupervised Boys)

William Hogarth - "First Stage of Cruelty", Plate 1 from (The Four Stages of Cruelty): In Hogarth's first scene, he describes the cruelty of unsupervised boys. In the center Tom Nero (holding onto the post and wearing a wide brimmed hat) and an accomplice are plunging an arrow into the rectum of a dog. A well dressed youth, perhaps the master of the pet, uselessly pleads with them to stop. Various other episodes of senseless violence and torture take place: Boys are burning the eye of a bird, tying bones to a dog, torturing a rooster, hanging fighting cats and even hurling defenseless animals from high windows. The Four Stages of Cruelty thus graphically illustrates the escalating affects of violent behavior from childhood to adulthood in the person of one character named Tom Nero.

First Stage of Cruelty (Tom Nero & the Cruelty of Unsupervised Boys) was both designed and engraved by William Hogarth. This original engraving and etching is printed upon early nineteenth century wove paper and with large, full margins as published by William Heath in 1822. It is a fine, original example of the satirical art created by the British artist, William Hogarth. First Stage of Cruelty, Plate I; Paulson Catalogue #187, Second and Final State from The Four Stages of Cruelty (Complete set of Four Original Engravings).

Original Engraving and Etching by the British Satirical Artist, William Hogarth

The Four Stages of Cruelty (Plate 1), 'The First Stage of Cruelty': William Hogarth's first scene describes the cruelty by unsupervised boys. Various episodes of senseless violence and torture of defenseless animals.

View Other Original Engravinga for the Four Stages of Cruelty (Complete Set of Four) by William Hogarth

# 11.- The Four Stages of Cruelty (Complete Set of Four)
	Image	Title & Artist	Medium	Date	Notes	-
01.-		Plate 1 'First Stage of Cruelty' The cruelty of animals by unsupervised boys by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1750-1951 (Heath Edition 1822)	Paulson, Catalogue #187, Second and Final State.	Sold
02.-		Plate 2 'Second Stage of Cruelty' Tom Nero has reached adulthood and continues his childhood behaviour, mercilessly beating animals by William Hogarth	Original Engraving	1735 (Heath Edition 1822)	Paulson, Catalogue #188, Second and Final State.	Sold
03.-		Plate 3 'Cruelty in Perfection' Now a thief, Nero has been caught in the act of violent murder by William Hogarth.	Original Engraving	1735 (Heath Edition 1822)	Paulson, Catalogue #189, Second and Final State.	Sold
04.-		Plate 4 'The Reward of Cruelty' Convicted and executed, Tom Nero's body has been delivered to the Royal College of Surgeons by William Hogarth.	Original Engraving	1735 (Heath Edition 1822)	Paulson, Catalogue #190, Second and Final State	Sold

William Hogarth (London, 1697 - 1764)
#	Title & Artist	Medium	Date	-
01.-	An Election Entertainment by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Four Original Engravings	1755 - 1758 (Heath Ed)	Sold
02.-	Analysis of Beauty by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Two Original Engravings (Plate I & II)	1753 (Heath Ed)	Sold
03.-	A Midnight Modern Conversation by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1732 (Heath Ed)	Sold
04.-	A Rake's Progress by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Eight Original Engravings	1735 (Heath Ed)	Sold
05.-	A Chorus of Singers by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1732 (Heath Ed)	Sold
06.-	Battle of the Pictures by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1743 (Heath Ed)	Sold
07.-	Boys Peeping at Nature by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1730 (Heath Ed)	Available
08.-	Characters & Caricaturas by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1743 (Heath Ed)	Sold
09.-	Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1762 (Heath Ed)	Sold
10.-	Four Times of The Day by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Four Original Engravings	1738 (Heath Ed)	Sold
11.-	Four Stages of Cruelty by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Four Original Engravings	1750-1751 (Heath Ed)	Sold
12.-	Frontispiece to Taylor's Perspective by William Woollett & William Hogarth	Original Line Engraving	1761 (Heath Ed)	Sold
13.-	Gin Lane by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1750-1751 (Heath Ed)	Sold
14.-	Illustrations for Samuel Butler's 'Hudibras' by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Twelve Original Engravings	1725 (Heath Ed)	Available
15.-	Industry and Idleness by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Twelve Original Engravings	1747 (Heath Ed)	Sold
16.-	John Wilkes Esquire by William Hogarth	Original Etching	1763 (Heath Ed)	Sold
17.-	Marriage a la Mode by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Six Original Engravings	1745 (Heath Ed)	Sold
18.-	Martin Folkes Esqr. by William Hogarth	Original Etching & Engraving	1742 (Heath Ed)	Available
19.-	Moses Brought to Pharaoh's Daughter by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1752 (Heath Ed)	Available
20.-	Pit Ticket: The Cockpit by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1759 (Heath Ed)	Available
21.-	Satire on False Perspective by Luke Sullivan & William Hogarth	Original Etching & Engraving	1754 (Heath Ed)	Sold
22.-	Scholars at a Lecture by William Hogarth	Original Line Engraving & Etching	1736 (Heath Ed)	Sold
23.-	Shrimps! by Francesco Bartolozzi & William Hogarth	Original Stipple Engraving	1782	Sold
24.-	Simon Lord Lovat by William Hogarth	Original Etching	1746 (Heath Ed)	Sold
25.-	Southwark Fair by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1733 (Heath Ed)	Sold
26.-	Taste in High Life by Samuel Phillips & William Hogarth	Original Stipple Engraving	1808 (John Boydell Ed.)	Sold
27.-	The Company of Undertakers by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1736 (Heath Ed)	Sold
28.-	The Distrest Poet by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1736 (Heath Ed)	Sold
29.-	The Five Orders of Perriwigs by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1761 (Heath Ed)	Sold
30.-	The Invasion: France, Plate I by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Two Original Engravings (England & France)	1756 (Heath Ed)	Sold
31.-	The Invasion: England, Plate II by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Two Original Engravings (England & France)	1756 (Heath Ed)	Sold
32.-	The Laughing Audience by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1733 (Heath Ed)	Sold
33.-	The Politician by John Keyse Sherwin & William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1775 (Heath Ed)	Sold
34.-	The Sleepy Congregation by William Hogarth	Original Engraving & Etching	1736 (Heath Ed)	Sold
35.-	The Times by William Hogarth	Complete Set of Two Original Engravings (Plate I & II)	1762 (Heath Ed)	Sold
36.-	Time Smoking a Picture by William Hogarth	Original Engraving	1761 (Heath Ed)	Sold
37.-	William Hogarth Painting of the Comic Muse by William Hogarth	Original Engraving	1764 (Heath Ed)	Sold

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Title:	First Stage of Cruelty: The Four Stages of Cruelty, Plate 1 (Tom Nero and the cruelty of unsupervised boys (Complete set of Four Original Engravings).
Artist:	Hogarth, William (London, 1697 - 1764)
Date:	1750-1951 (Heath Edition 1822)
Medium:	Original Engraving & Etching
Publisher:	William Heath, London
Note:	The name of William Hogarth requires little in the way of an introduction. He is the unquestioned father of England's rich tradition of satire and remains one of the most original and lively minds in the entire history of British art. Famous for his paintings, Hogarth's engravings are even more paramount: the imagery from The Harlot's Progress, Marriage a la Mode, The Four Stages of Cruelty, Four Prints of an Election, The Four Times of the Day and a host of others are crucial to an understanding of eighteenth century art and culture. Yet Hogarth's art stretched beyond his time and his masterful engravings are as relevant to our society as they were to his.
	Training first as an engraver, Hogarth became an independent illustrator as early as 1720. In his spare time he studied painting techniques, notably under Sir James Thornhill. By 1730 he established himself as a portrait painter. Yet at the same time Hogarth began creating sets of anecdotal pictures which brilliantly satirized society and its activities. The first such set, A Harlot's Progress (1732), gained for Hogarth a strong and lasting national reputation. During the following decades he both painted and engraved individual works and sets of images which forged the cornerstone for English satirical art. Such great masters as Rowlandson, Gillray, Heath and Cruikshank followed in Hogarth's footsteps.
	The four engravings which comprise The Four Stages of Cruelty were created by William Hogarth to achieve the same effects on the same audience as Gin Lane and Beer Street.
	"First Stage of Cruelty", Plate 1 from (The Four Stages of Cruelty): The first scene describes the cruelty of unsupervised boys. In the center Tom Nero (holding onto the post and wearing a wide brimmed hat) and an accomplice are plunging an arrow into the rectum of a dog. A well dressed youth, perhaps the master of the pet, uselessly pleads with them to stop. Various other episodes of senseless violence and torture take place: Boys are burning the eye of a bird, tying bones to a dog, torturing a rooster, hanging fighting cats and even hurling defenseless animals from high windows. Such childhood 'pranks' will have dire consequences in the future. The four engravings which comprise The Four Stages of Cruelty were created by Hogarth to achieve the same effects on the same audience as Gin Lane and Beer Street. He wrote, " The four stages of cruelty were done in the hopes of preventing in some degree that cruel treatment of poor animals which makes the streets of London more disagreeable to the human mind, than anything what ever, the very describing of which gives pain. But it could not be done in too strong a manner, as the most stony hearts were meant to be affected by them. ... . The Four Stages of Cruelty* thus graphically illustrates the escalating affects of violent behavior from childhood to adulthood in the person of one character named Tom Nero.
Raisonne:	Ronald Paulson, Hogarth's Graphic Works, London, Yale University Press, 1965.
	Plate 1; Paulson #187, Second and Final State.
Reference:	* Sean Shesgreen, Engravings by Hogarth, New York, Dover Press,1973, plates 77 - 80. (The quotation appears opposite plate 77.)
Source:	Heath Edition, London (The Four Stages of Cruelty, Set of four)
Size:	15 1/4 X 12 1/8 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
	Matted with 100% Archival Materials
Condition:	Printed upon early nineteenth century wove paper and with large, full margins as published by William Heath in 1822. One should take note that Heath was the last printer to print directly from Hogarth's original engraved plates. All 'Hogarth' prints appearing after this date are merely copies of these original graphic works of art.
	This original impressions of Plate 1 (First Stage of Cruelty) from the complete set of The Four Stages of Cruelty contains slight foxing in the outer margins. There is no foxing within the actual image. Water staining is also apparent in the upper left margin, but not affecting the actual engraving. Else, this large and important Hogarth engraving is in good condition throughout.
Price:	Sold - The price is no longer available.
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