Hogarth, William, 1697-1764 :[A Rake's progress. The tavern scene]. Plate 3. Invented, painted, engrav'd, & publish'd by Wm Hogarth & publish'd June ye 25 1735 according to Act of Parliament.

A lively and noisy brothel scene shows Tom in the Rose Tavern. He is drunkenly sprawled in a chair to the left of the room with one foot resting on the table in the centre and holding a glass of wine by its stem. The prostitute beside Tom has just stolen his pocket watch and is handing it to another standing behind. A quarrelling pair of women at the table are spitting gin. The woman in the foreground is stripping and her discarded corset lies nearby. The art on the walls is all debased - portraits of Roman emperors, are all defaced (except for Nero), the mirror is smashed, the map of the world is set on fire by a careless girl's candle. The women's pock marks and patches spell disease, and the box of pills on the floor hints that Tom is already infected. The porter Leathercoat is bringing a large platter and lighted candle into the room. Beside him is a heavily pregnant woman singing the lewd ballad `Black Jake'. In the corner behind the open door are a trumpter and a harpist.

Verse beneath - O vanity of youthful blood....

Source of descriptive information - Jenny Uglow. Hogarth, a life and a world. London, 1997.

Inscriptions: Recto - beneath image - Text and title

Quantity: 1 b&w art print(s).

Physical Description: Engraving, 356 x 410 mm, on sheet 485 x 652 mm