O’ the roast beef of old England…

description below

Engraving of William Hogarth’s 1748 painting ‘O the Roast Beef of Old England’ (London, Tate Britain), which he had himself published as a print. The scene is set at the Gate of Calais (after the painting in the Tate Gallery) with a fat monk prodding a large sirloin of beef carried by a cook, on either side are two French soldiers, one of whom spills his bowl of thin soup as he gazes in amazement at the beef; on the left, three market women with crosses hanging from their necks admire a skate in a basket of fish; on the right, two ragged men carry a large pot of soup while another drinks from a bowl, and a Scottish soldier cowers beneath an archway; in the middle distance, to left, Hogarth himself is seen sketching at the moment when a soldier’s hand takes him by the shoulder; beyond, through the gate, is a religious procession.

 

  • Title: O’ the roast beef of old England &c. [graphic] / painted by W. Hogarth.
  • Publication: London : Printed for Robt. Sayer, No. 53 Fleet Street, [not before 1766]

Catalog Record

Hogarth 766.00.00.03+ Box 200

Acquired March 2020

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