A print depicts a male corpse being publicly dissected by three men, while a group of scholars sit behind the dissection table and talk amongst themselves.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A print depicting a dissection theatre, with a male corpse being dissected by three male figures. A crowd of scholars are seated around the dissection, paying no attention to the scene in front of them. In the center of the crowd, a man seated on a large chair points with a stick to the corpse’s open chest. At the bottom of the image, a man pulls the corpse’s intestines into a bucket with other organs, a dog eats an organ, and a cauldron boils skulls and bones. Text above the image reads "The Reward of Cruelty."

Identification and Creation

Object Number
G9035
People
William Hogarth, British (London 1697 - 1764 London)
Title
The Reward of Cruelty
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: The Four Stages of Cruelty
Alternate Title: The Four Stages of Cruelty, Plate 4.
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1751
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/238114

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Etching and engraving
Technique
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
plate: 38.4 x 31.8 cm (15 1/8 x 12 1/2 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: recto, in lower text margin between the first two columns of verse, brown ink: r. 107
  • inscription: verso, lower right, graphite: Lot of 4- B

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
i/iv
Standard Reference Number
P. 190, BM Sat. 3166

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gray Collection of Engravings Fund
Object Number
G9035
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Exhibition History

Verification Level

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