About this artwork
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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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- William Hogarth
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Title
- Strolling Actresses Dressing in a Barn
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Place
- England (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1738
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Medium
- Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
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Dimensions
- Image: 42.3 × 53.8 cm (16 11/16 × 21 3/16 in.); Plate: 45 × 56.1 cm (17 3/4 × 22 1/8 in.); Sheet: 49.3 × 62.8 cm (19 7/16 × 24 3/4 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Horace S. Oakley
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Reference Number
- 1921.346
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/80820/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
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