A Rake's Progress, Plate 2, Surrounded by Artists and Professors

A Rake?s Progress, a series of eight etchings by English engraver and painter William Hogarth, was printed as social commentary for the 18th-century audience. The series focuses on the demise of Tom Rakewell, the heir of a prosperous merchant, who squanders his inheritance on an extravagant lifestyle. In the second etching of this series Rakewell is dressed in expensive clothing and is seen embracing his new lifestyle in his magnificent new London home. He is surrounded by instructors of the arts who offer their services to the newly wealthy young man. Hogarth demonstrates that Rakewell has replaced the prudent lifestyle of his father in exchange for a flamboyant, aristocratic position in London society. Printed by G�rard Scotin