Art Institute of Chicago
Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn
William HogarthLinkedCulture matchlcp-4bc0237dded5
- Date
- May 1738
- Medium
- Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
- Culture
- England
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 80820
Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn was William Hogarth’s ardent protest against Robert Walpole’s Licensing Act of 1737. The act gave the British government the power to heavily censor theatrical productions. Sentimentalist domestic plays and Shakespeare were the only productions allowed on stage. Hogarth’s engraving shows actresses dressed as Classical deities preparing for a performance in a shabby and chaotic backstage setting. The artist critiqued the British government’s pompous attempt to whitewash the theater by juxtaposing the idealized characters the actresses will portray with the actresses’ reality.
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Gift of Horace S. Oakley
Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300041273
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