Rakes, Rogues and Gentlemen of the 18th Century

(Art, Sex and Binge Drinking in Georgian London through the eyes of Hogarth)

by Hendrika Foster MA

The Second Spring Stourton Talk on Thursday 12th May 2011.

In aid of Local Churches and Help 4 Heroes

Stourton Memorial Hall

6.45pm for 7pm. £10 (at the door). Price includes wine and light refreshment.

The first Stourton Talk on the History of Art has a racy title because the subject is robust, honest and shocking. English society at the time of the Enlightenment was a mixture of debauchery and Classical culture, the latter imported by the aristocracy on Grand Tour. William Hogarth sketched and painted the former to show its horrors; he deplored the latter because he wanted the rich to patronise living contemporary English artists and not dead Italians.

Hendrika Foster has tutored for the University of Bristol, the WEA, Urchfont College, The University of Bath and the National Trust. She has led many History of Art tours to Italy for the University of Bristol and NADFAS.

In this lecture Hendrika will explore the art of Hogarth and his contemporaries so we may see life in mid-18th century London with all its zest and moral turpitude. It was the England of Henry Fielding's Tom Jones - lusty, drunken and depraved.

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