Oil paint on canvas
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<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/william-hogarth-265" aria-label="More by William Hogarth" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">William Hogarth</a>
Painter and his Pug
Purchased 1824
abstract concepts
adults
animals: mammals
artist’s notes
artist, painter
arts - book
arts - palette
arts and entertainment
book, Milton, John
book, Shakespeare
book, Swift, Jonathan
dog, pug
fine arts and music
Hogarth, William
inscriptions
man
named individuals
objects
painting
palette
people
portraits
reading, writing, printed matter
self-portraits
symbols and personifications
work and occupations
<p>Hogarth began this self-portrait in the mid-1730s. X-rays have revealed that initially it showed the artist in a formal coat and wig. He later changed these to the more informal cap and clothes seen here. The oval canvas containing Hogarth’s portrait appears propped up on volumes of Shakespeare, Swift and Milton, authors who inspired Hogarth’s commitment to drama, satire and epic poetry. On his palette is the ‘Line of Beauty and Grace’, which underpinned Hogarth’s theories on art. Hogarth’s pug dog, Trump, serves as an emblem of the artist’s own pugnacious character. This portrait acted as a statement of the artist’s professional ambition.</p><p><em>Gallery label, February 2016</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
22 October 2001 – 27 June 2004
2004-06-27
22 October 2001 – 27 June 2004
2004-06-27
2001-10-22
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2001-10-22
Hogarth and the Theatre of Life
Collection based display
12 July 2004 – 20 June 2005
2005-06-20
12 July 2004
2004-07-12
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2004-07-12
Portraits and Perspectives
Collection based display
18 October 2006 – 7 January 2007
2007-01-07
18 October 2006 – 7 January 2007
2007-01-07
2006-10-18
Musée du Louvre (Paris, France)
21 May 2007 – 26 August 2007
2007-08-26
2007-05-21
CaixaForum Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain)
http://www3.lacaixa.es
2006-10-18
Hogarth
Loan-out
7 February 2007 – 29 April 2007
2007-04-29
18 October 2006 – 7 January 2007
2007-01-07
2006-10-18
Musée du Louvre (Paris, France)
7 February 2007 – 29 April 2007
2007-04-29
2007-02-07
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
21 May 2007 – 26 August 2007
2007-08-26
2007-05-21
CaixaForum Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain)
http://www3.lacaixa.es
2007-02-07
Hogarth
Exhibition
12 October 2007 – 31 October 2010
2010-10-31
12 October 2007 – 31 October 2010
2010-10-31
2007-10-12
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2007-10-12
Hogarth and London
Collection based display
10 October 2009 – 10 January 2010
2010-01-10
10 October 2009 – 10 January 2010
2010-01-10
2009-10-10
Henry Moore Institute (Leeds, UK)
http://www.henry-moore-fdn.co.uk
2009-10-10
Sculpture in Painting
Loan-out
2 December 2010 – 14 October 2012
2012-10-14
2 December 2010 – 14 October 2012
2012-10-14
2010-12-02
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2010-12-02
Gallery 9
Collection based display
16 November 2012 – 24 July 2022
2022-07-24
16 November 2012
2012-11-16
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2012-11-16
Gallery 16
Collection based display
20 October 2014 – 31 August 2015
2015-08-31
1 May 2015 – 31 August 2015
2015-08-31
2015-05-01
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery (Bristol, UK)
http://www.bristol-city.gov.uk
2014-10-20
Hogarth display
Loan-out
24 October 2014 – 26 April 2015
2015-04-26
20 October 2014 – 26 April 2015
2015-04-26
2014-10-20
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2014-10-24
William Hogarth
Collection based display
1 May 2025 – 1 May 2026
2026-05-01
1 May 2025 – 1 May 2026
2026-05-01
2025-05-01
National Gallery (London, UK)
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk
2025-05-01
National Gallery Bicentenary
Loan-out
The Painter and his Pug
support: 900 × 699 mm
frame: 1080 × 875 × 78 mm
Purchased 1824
<div class="text">
<p>Hogarth began this self-portrait by painting himself in a formal coat and wig. Later, he changed these to the more casual cap and clothes seen here, suggesting a down-to-earth self-image. His pet pug, Trump, alludes to the artist’s own pugnacious character. The picture is also a statement of Hogarth’s professional ambitions, with the oval canvas propped up on books by famous British authors. He includes a curving line, inscribed ‘Line of Beauty and Grace’ on the palette. Hogarth believed this serpentine line underpinned all harmony and beauty in art and nature.</p>
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Online caption
2023-11-29T00:00:00
online-caption
ONLINE_CAPTION
<p><a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hogarth-the-painter-and-his-pug-n00112" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N00112</span></a> <b>Portrait of the Painter and his Pug</b> 1745
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<p>Oil on canvas 900×699 (35 7/16×27 1/2)
<br/>Inscribed ‘The LINE OF BEAUTY|And GRACE|W.H. 1745’ on palette bottom left, and ‘SHAKE|SPEARE’, ‘SWIFT|WORKS’ and ‘MIL [TON]|P[ARAD]|LOST’ on back of the three volumes, reading from top to bottom Purchased by the National Gallery 1824; transferred to the Tate Gallery 1951
<br/>PROVENANCE Mrs Hogarth, from whom inherited by her cousin Mary Lewis 1789, sold Greenwood's 24 April 1790 (47) £47 5s od bt Alderman John Boydell; still in the collection of John and Josiah Boydell when engraved by B. Smith 1795; probably sold by the Boydells as uncatalogued addition to the sale of Hogarth's ‘Marriage A-la-Mode’, Christie's 10 February 1797, whose master-copy is inscribed by hand ‘1. The Portrait of Hogarth - £47 3s od Angerstein’; according to J. Nichols certainly in Angerstein collection by March 1798; sold with Angerstein collection to the National Gallery
<br/>EXHIBITED BI 1814 (94); <i>National Portrait Exhibition</i>, South Kensington 1867 (352); <i>Exhibition of Cleaned Pictures</i>, National Gallery 1947 (78); Tate Gallery 1951 (59); Manchester 1954 (32, repr. as frontispiece); BC tour 1957 (34, repr. p.73); Tate Gallery 1971 (135, repr. in col. p.73); <i>Rococo Art and Design in Hogarth's England</i>, Victoria and Albert Museum 1984 (p.66, E3, repr. pl.v in col.)
<br/>ENGRAVED 1. Line engraving by Hogarth, with inscription `<i>Gulielmus Hogarth|Se ipse Pinxit et Sculpsil 1749</i> and pub. by himself March 1749 2. Mezzotint copy of above by Charles Spooner of Dublin, 1749
<br/>LITERATURE J. Ireland 1798, p.351; S. Ireland 1799, pp.2–3; Nichols &amp; Steevens, I, 1808, p.170, III 1817, p.169; Nichols 1833, p.382; G. Redford, <i>Art Sales</i>, 1888, I, p.61, II, p.53; Dobson 1902, pp.129, 173, repr. as frontispiece; A. Graves, <i>Art Sales</i>, 1921, II, p.34; Dobson 1907, pp.146, 203, repr. as frontispiece; Davies 1946, pp.67–8; Beckett 1949, p.55, pl.155; Antal 1962, pp.12, 14, 118, 25 n.31, pl.96(b); Baldini &amp; Mandel 1967, p.109, no.160, pl.XLVIII (col.); J.V.G. Mallet, ‘Hogarth's Pug in Porcelain’, <i>Victoria and Albert Museum Bulletin</i>, III, no.2, April 1967, pp.45–54, fig.2; Paulson 1970, I, pp.204–5, no.181, II, pl.193 and frontispiece; Paulson 1971, I, p.450, II, pp.3, 4, 83, 284–5, 425 n.2, pl.190; Kerslake 1977, I, p.148, II, pl.391; Webster 1979, pp.126–7, 186, no.153, repr. in col. (details) pp.137–9; Bindman 1981, pp.109, 151, 195, 203, fig.119 (col.)
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<p>This <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/portrait" title="Glossary definition for 'Portrait'"><span>portrait</span></a>, which developed over several years, is also Hogarth's public statement of his artistic beliefs. It represents the artist in a <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/s/still-life" title="Glossary definition for 'Still life'"><span>still-life</span></a> assemblage, as if painted on an unframed oval <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/canvas" title="Glossary definition for 'Canvas'"><span>canvas</span></a> which rests on volumes of the three authors he admired most - Shakespeare, Swift and Milton. The implication is not only that he took his inspiration from drama, contemporary satire and epic poetry, but also that he saw the art of <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a> as their equal. In the left foreground lies his palette, bearing a representation of the three-dimensional serpentine ‘Line of Beauty and Grace’ (‘and Grace’ has been painted out, but is now clearly visible through the transparent overpaint), which Hogarth considered to be the fundamental principle of all artistic harmony and beauty. In the opposite corner, as if to contrast the reality of nature with theoretical <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/a/abstract-art" title="Glossary definition for 'Abstract art'"><span>abstraction</span></a>, sits one of Hogarth's successive favourite pugs. In this case it is probably Trump, who, according to Samuel Ireland, was modelled, like his master, by Roubiliac in the early 1740s, ‘and for whom he had conceived a greater share of attachment than is usually bestowed on these domestic animals’. Hogarth was apparently fond of remarking on the resemblance between himself and his dog and probably saw in it something suggestive of his own notoriously pugnacious nature. Roubiliac's terracotta bust of Hogarth is now in the National Portrait Gallery; the model of Trump has been lost, but survives in Chelsea porcelain reproductions, including one in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
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<br/>The portrait was clearly painted with <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/e/engraving" title="Glossary definition for 'Engraving'"><span>engraving</span></a> in mind, and Hogarth used the engraving he made from it in 1749 as the frontispiece to bound copies of his engraved works. In the <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/print" title="Glossary definition for 'Print'"><span>print</span></a> the image is reversed, except for the scar on the forehead - reputedly received in youth and displayed with pride - which the artist has adjusted to remain on the correct side, over his right eyebrow. Also included in the foreground of the engraving is a burin to represent Hogarth's work as a graphic artist; this is absent in the painting, but X-rays show that originally a graving-tool, larger than that in the engraving, lay in front of the portrait on top of the pile of books.
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<br/>Another noticeable difference in the engraving are the blobs of paint on the palette, carefully graded from light to dark, of which there seems to be no trace in the original painting. These hark back to the similarly <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/i/impasto" title="Glossary definition for 'Impasto'"><span>impastoed</span></a> blobs of paint, shaded from white to bright red, on the palette of the unfinished self-portrait now in the Mellon collection at Yale, which is probably an abandoned earlier treatment of the same face-mask (the best, though incomplete, colour reproduction of this is in Webster 1979, frontispiece; also Beckett 1949, fig.40, and Paulson 1971, fig.170). As Hogarth was to explain later in his <i>Analysis of Beauty</i>, published in 1753 (Burke 1955, p.128) he saw the brilliant, clear colours represented by ‘firm red’ and white (because ‘nearest to light’) as equal in ‘value as to beauty’, and used a painter's palette of shaded blobs in plate 2 of the <i>Analysis</i> to expound his theories on <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/t/tone" title="Glossary definition for 'Tone'"><span>tone</span></a> and shade.
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<br/>The catalogue of the exhibition of restored paintings at the National Gallery in 1947 first noted the presence of numerous pentimenti, and in particular the wig which shows through the cap and the cheek near the ear. Recent X-rays carried out by the Courtauld Institute  confirm that the painting began life as a much more conventional and gentlemanly representation of the artist, in which he wore a full wig, a flowing white cravat, and a coat and waistcoat with gold buttons. It also shows that a bunch of long brushes had originally been stuck through the thumbhole of the palette. The oval of the self-portrait had at one time been much smaller and drawn closer to the head: the sweeping zigzag brush-stroke with which Hogarth attempted to obliterate its upper right edge is clearly visible in raking light. A very exact picture of what this original smaller oval looked like can be had from an enamel <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/m/miniature" title="Glossary definition for 'Miniature'"><span>miniature</span></a> now in the National Portrait Gallery, which seems to coincide with the X-ray image in every particular. This miniature, of which two versions are known (another is with Edwin Bucher of Trogen, Switzerland), may be by Hogarth's friend and collaborator, the Swiss enameller André Rouquet (1701–58), and looks as if it may well have been copied from this portrait as it was in its earlier stage of development. The miniatures are neither signed nor dated, but the one in the Bucher collection is in a contemporary silver-gilt case which is engraved on the back ‘W<sup>m</sup>. Hogarth|Painted by Zincke|1735’. Expert opinion on the whole now doubts the attribution to Zincke, and J.V. Murrell of the Victoria and Albert Museum has kindly suggested that the inscription looks stylistically later than 1735. However, he considers that the date could be an accurate record of the date the miniature was painted, and Rouquet, who worked in the style of Zincke, as a possible attribution. This would suggest that the Tate Gallery portrait could have been begun around this date: certainly the energetic handling of the wig as shown in the X-ray is very close to that of the unfinished self-portrait at Yale, which has always been considered an early work.
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<br/>One can only speculate as to the reasons why Hogarth changed his image in so radical a manner by 1745. One possibility is that his trip to Paris in May 1743 to recruit French engravers to work on the ‘Marriage A-la-Mode’ series confronted him with an artistic community that had a much better self-image than that in Britain. The confident pride of the French artists in their own status shows itself most clearly in the magnificent artists' portraits presented by engravers as diploma works for their reception into the French <i><a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/a/academy" title="Glossary definition for 'Academy'"><span>Académie</span></a></i>. From 1704 these had to submit to the <i>oeil-de-boeuf</i> format, in which the engraver gave the portrait an elaborate three-dimensionally conceived surround that usually incorporated emblematic items like the artist's tools in the foreground. In the majority of cases the artists presented themselves not in conventional dress, but in casual artist's attire. While Hogarth may have been familiar with such <i>morceaux de réception</i> early in his career (and indeed the whole concept of his self-portrait suggests that he was), the trip may have given him the necessary jolt to prefer a more artistic image of himself over a gentlemanly one.
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<br/>Hogarth's conception of the ‘Line of Beauty’ was less firm at this stage than might appear from the portrait. When he elaborated the idea in his <i>Analysis of Beauty</i> a few years later, he defined the ‘Line of Beauty’ as a gently waving line in two dimensions, and the ‘Line of Grace’ as a three-dimensional serpentine line. In this portrait, as in the engraving after it, the line is clearly three-dimensional, but labelled the ‘Line of Beauty’. The fact that ‘and Grace’ has been painted out also suggests that Hogarth's ideas on this were still changing. He may have even included the line at this stage in order to provoke discussion, for in his preface to the <i>Analysis</i> he writes (apparently giving the wrong date) that ‘In the year 1745 [I] published a Frontispiece to my engraved Works, in which I drew a serpentine line lying on a Painter's pallet, with these words under it, “THE LINE OF BEAUTY”. The bait soon took; and no Egyptian Hieroglyphic ever amused more than it did for a time. Painters and <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/s/sculpture" title="Glossary definition for 'Sculpture'"><span>Sculptors</span></a> came to me, to know the meaning of it, being as much puzzled with it as other people, till it came to have some explanation.’ Clearly, like his image of himself, his theoretical views also shifted ground in later years, leaving a complex record of their development on this canvas.
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<p><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Elizabeth Einberg and Judy Egerton, <i>The Age of Hogarth: British Painters Born 1675-1709</i>, Tate Gallery Collections, II, London 1988
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Catalogue entry
2004-09-22T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
abstract concepts adults animals: mammals artist, painter artist’s notes arts and entertainment arts - book arts - palette book, Milton, John book, Shakespeare book, Swift, Jonathan dog, pug fine arts and music Hogarth, William inscriptions man named individuals objects painting palette people portraits reading, writing, printed matter self-portraits symbols and personifications work and occupations