Industry and Idleness
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Industry and Idleness is a series of twelve engravings by William Hogarth, published in 1747, contrasting the diverging fortunes of two apprentices.[1]
Narrative
Unlike many of Hogarth's earlier series, the plates were engraved directly rather than based on paintings. The story follows two apprentices who begin under identical circumstances: Francis Goodchild rises through diligence and virtue to become Lord Mayor of London and marries his master's daughter, while Thomas Idle, given over to gambling and idleness, descends into highway robbery and murder and is ultimately hanged at Tyburn.[1]
Purpose and reception
The series was intended as a popular, broadly accessible moral lesson promoting diligence and virtue to a wide commercial audience, and it sold very well, inspiring a pantomime, a stage play, and extensive literary commentary in its own time.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Hogarth's print series: Industry and Idleness 1-6."The Eclectic Light Company.Retrieved 2026-10-02.