Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Known for his satire, William Hogarth considered this print a protest of British prime minister Robert Walpole’s Licensing Act of 1737, which gave the government power to heavily censor theatrical productions. A reference to the act appears on a large crown in the left foreground, near a playbill. Still, Hogarth poked fun at the somewhat indulgent lifestyle of players by juxtaposing the actresses’ challenging reality with the stage sets and costumes that portray lofty classical deities and the heavens. The shabby and chaotic backstage is made more so by the hefty consumption of wine and other alcoholic beverages, even among younger people. The playful irreverence of this backstage scene is underscored by the kittens in the foreground, one of whom plays with a globus cruciger , or cross-bearing orb, recognized as a symbol of authority throughout the Christian world.