Hogarth Exhibition Provides Glimpse of Wesley’s England

作为一名神学院学生，院长克雷格·希尔(Craig Hill)对古老的英国版画产生了浓厚的兴趣. Now, that youthful obsession is benefiting students, faculty and visitors at Perkins School of Theology. 

希尔借了十几幅英国艺术家威廉·霍加斯(1697 - 1764)的版画，在伊丽莎白·珀金斯·普罗斯罗大厅展出, 在那里，他们为游客提供了一个独特的，揭示了卫理公会开始的时间和地点.

“The prints give a little picture of what 18^th 世纪英国人的生活是什么样的，以及卫理公会面临的一些挑战是什么，”他说. “它们是社会文物，是那个时期的流行视觉表现.”   

希尔在牛津大学实习时，曾参加过一场教堂的拍卖，这激发了他的兴趣.  他对一幅有200年历史的地形图投了价，并赢了.

“I discovered that I could own something that was lovely, decorative and historic, for just a few pounds,” he said. “I was hooked.”  

多年来，希尔多次回到英国生活, he continued to collect hundreds of prints, with a particular focus on prints by Hogarth, an English painter, printmaker and satirist, a contemporary of John Wesley, and possibly the most significant artist of his generation.  

贺加斯的职业生涯与韦斯利有很大的重叠, and it’s a very interesting time period,” Hill said. “This was the time of the rise of the middle class. Middle class people were coming into their own, wanting to be educated, and having their own set of morals.”

Wesley’s Contemporary

Around the time Hill arrived at Perkins in 2016, the Art & 珀金斯执行委员会的设计委员会正在寻找改善Prothro环境的方法.

“When we learned about Dean Hill’s collection, of course we hopped all over it,” said committee member Gay Solomon, 他补充说，希尔曾借给杜克大学神学院一个类似的展览, where he taught before coming to Perkins.

Now, 霍加斯的版画为普罗斯罗的环境增添了美丽，也为卫斯理历史的学生提供了丰富的背景资料.

Prior to Hogarth’s time, 大多数艺术作品都是受富人委托创作的，描绘的是古典故事和主题, or the wealthy patrons themselves. 然而，贺加斯的版画反映了当代生活和日常事务. 就其广泛的吸引力和兴趣而言，这些版画很像今天流行的电视连续剧. 普通人通过订阅购买这些版画，并把它们挂在家里的墙上.

“贺加斯的版画中还有一种广泛的社会意识，这是你在现有技术中通常看不到的,” Hill added. “Hogarth is satirical, but he’s not cynical. 他并不讨厌中产阶级，但他针对的是他们的弱点.”

细心的观众可以轻松地花一两个小时来欣赏贺加斯的每一幅版画. 每一个都讲述了一个故事，无数的细节反映了当时的阶级、宗教和价值观. Often, Hogarth pokes fun. 

特别是两幅版画，描绘了韦斯利时期的宗教生活. 《威尼斯人博彩》(1736)展示了英国国教的礼拜仪式，揭示了当时教会的颓废和无关紧要. The church clerk ogles a buxom maiden; the preacher’s sermon text, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,，暗指那些坐满了熟睡的礼拜者的长椅.

By contrast, “Credulity, 《威尼斯人娱乐城》(1762)描绘了卫理公会教徒的喧闹集会, caught up in religious fervor that, in Hogarth’s view, is enthusiastic but shallow. A thermometer implies crowd’s religion is only lukewarm; nearby, 一个施舍箱没有动过——里面有一张蜘蛛网——这表明他们对照顾穷人缺乏真正的兴趣.  

霍加斯是在批评当时宗教人士的两个极端——他们是否睡着了, or caught up in artificial excitement,” Hill said.

Solomon, 他也是达拉斯艺术博物馆董事会的前成员, said the prints still speak to contemporary people of faith.

“Hogarth shows us that, even though we are trying to follow Jesus’ way, 试图夸大自己的自我形象和重要性是人类的本性,” she said. “

Moral Instruction

展览中最著名的版画是《威尼斯人博彩》和《威尼斯人博彩》(1733)。, 这是贺加斯为了支持议会限制杜松子酒进口的法案而做的一点政治宣传. In “Beer Street,” citizens are healthy and industrious; the area is prosperous, and buildings are under construction. By contrast, “Gin Lane” paints a picture of destitution and debauchery; there’s a man who has hung himself, a mother who neglects her baby, a gin seller who profits from the misery.

Many of Hogarth’s most famous works were series of prints, which he called “progresses,” offering moral instruction. 为了这次展览，希尔选择了一组12幅版画，题为“工业与懒惰”(1747)。. 这个道德故事对比了两个虚构人物的生活，弗朗西斯·古德柴尔德和汤姆·伊德尔. In the first print of the series, the two are both apprentices, working side-by-side in a silk-weaving operation in London. Goodchild strives diligently; Idle is asleep. From there, the two apprentices’ paths diverge. Goodchild attends church, rises in the business, marries the boss’s daughter, and ultimately becomes a magistrate. 然而，Idle在教堂墓地赌博，跑到海上，和妓女厮混.

最终，当Idle被带到Goodchild面前接受审判时，两人又重聚了. In the final two prints of the series, Goodchild成为伦敦市长，Idle面临死刑.

在现代观众看来，这个故事似乎有些粗暴，但希尔说它反映了18世纪^th century concerns about choices, 后果及其对穷人和最弱势群体的最终影响.

“We might object that Hogarth is overly simplistic, 但我不知道那个时候有谁会对那些被当今的机器吞噬的人表现出更多的同情, whether by unfair politics or bad behavior,” Hill said.

And those broader themes do still resonate, said Will Willimon, 退休的联合卫理公会主教，杜克大学基督教事工实践教授. 当这些版画在杜克大学展出时，威利蒙把它们用作教学工具. Students identified social ills depicted in Hogarth’s prints, and then considered whether they were still relevant.

威利蒙说:“他们说霍加斯时代的每一种社会罪恶在我们这个时代仍然存在。. “如果我们能像贺加斯那样有创意地讲真话就好了。!”

玛丽·雅各布斯，《威尼斯人娱乐城》前特约撰稿人，现为达拉斯自由撰稿人.