The Enraged Musician

The Enraged Musician

1. 1741 Engraving by Hogarth depicting the incongruity of the established arts with society

   • Upper England besotted with Italian architecture, theatre and opera, as portrayed in Hogarth's earlier piece 'The Bad Taste of the Town' that satirized the state of affairs in England at the time regarding arts and culture
     • George I very keen on pantomime, theatre guarded by king's soldiers
   • The musician representing upper class depicted as 'out of touch' with rest of society
     • Poster for The Beggar's Opera alluding to what was popular with the people
       • There had been a rise in popularity of the broadside ballad
         • Written musical tradition vs oral (musician's score) although it crosses over with inclusion of the ballad singer and The Beggar's Opera
         • Ballad singer intentionally pictured addressing the crowd, as opposed to the musician
         • Ballad song 'The Lady's Fall' about the ill effects of social class
     • The musician rumoured to be Pietro Castrucci, Handel's first violinist

Images and files in the map