2008.237: The Magic Lantern, Paul Before Felix

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2008.237

People

Paul Sandby, British, English (Nottingham, England 1731 - 1809 London, England)

Title

The Magic Lantern, Paul Before Felix

Other Titles

Alternate Title: A Satire on Hogarth

Classification

Prints

Work Type

print

Date

c. 1753

Culture

British

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/330254

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Etching on antique laid paper

Technique

Etching

Dimensions

sheet: 23 x 17.5 cm (9 1/16 x 6 7/8 in.)

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number

Gunn 136

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Marjorie B. Cohn in honor of Richard Balzer

Accession Year

2008

Object Number

2008.237

Division

European and American Art

Contact

am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

This etching represents William Hogarth sitting on a chair in front of his easel with a modified version of his painting "Pharoah's Daughter." His head acts like a magic lantern which, through his mouth, light projects his own print of "Paul before Felix Burlesqued."

Commentary

This print occupies a central place in the development of English graphic satire, a distinct tradition that achieved its first high-art status with William Hogarth and his prints. It provides a representation of the intermediary generation between Hogarth and Gillray.

Publication History

• Joseph Monteyne, From Still Life to the Screen: Print Culture, Display, and the Materiality of the Image in Eighteenth-century London, Yale University Press (New Haven, 2013), repr. as fig. 143 on p. 200 [not Harvard impression, related bibliography]

Verification Level