Noon
Date1738
Designed and engraved by
William Hogarth
1697 - 1764
OriginEngland, London
MediumEtching and line engraving on laid paper
DimensionsOverall: 22 1/2 × 18in. (57.2 × 45.7cm)
Other (Plate): 19 1/2 × 16in. (49.5 × 40.6cm)
Other (Plate): 19 1/2 × 16in. (49.5 × 40.6cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1966-495
DescriptionLower margin reads: "Invented Painted & Engraved by Wm. Hogarth & Publish'd March 25, 1738 according to Act of Parliament./ NOON."Label TextThis is plate two of William Hogarth's series "The Four Times of Day" which shows the progress of a day from morning to night around London. They play on the tradition of representing gods and goddesses to show the times of day. Hogarth recasts these deities as the central characters of the prints. This is the second plate in the series which represents noon as evidenced by the clock in the background, on the church St. Giles-in-the-Fields that reads "12:30." A wedding party, thought to be French, leaves a chapel, the couple dressed in finery. On the other side of the street, thought to be Hog Lane in Westminster, a pretty woman selling pies is cast in the role of Venus, who is caressed by a Black man in the role of Mars, and Cupid, represented by the bawling child. The street is lined with shops advertised by their street signs. One reads: "Good eating" and shows the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The other reads "Good Woman" and shows the shape of a headless woman.ProvenanceBefore 1966, the Old Print Shop (New York, NY); 1966-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).
