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Humours of an Election
The Humours of an Election is a series of four oil paintings and later engravings by William Hogarth that illustrate the election of a member of parliament in Oxfordshire in 1754. The oil paintings were created in 1755. The first three paintings, An Election Entertainment, Canvassing for Votes and The Polling, demonstrate the corruption endemic in parliamentary elections in the 18th century, before the Great Reform Act. The last painting, Chairing the Member, shows the celebrations of the victorious Tory candidates and their supporters.
At this time each constituency elected two MPs, and there was a property qualification for voters, so only a minority of the male population was enfranchised. There was no secret ballot, so bribery and intimidation were rife. However, this traditional view has been questioned by recent historians who observed lively local political participation in this time.
The originals are held by Sir John Soane's Museum, London. The works were also reproduced as a series of prints.
The painting depicts a tavern dinner organised by the Whig candidates, while the Tories protest outside. The Tories are carrying an antisemitic caricature of a Jew, a reference to Jewish Naturalisation Act 1753 recently passed by the Whig government. A Tory banner containing the words "Give us our Eleven days", a protest against the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, is on the tavern floor.
In the tavern the two Whig candidates are ingratiating themselves with supporters. One candidate is kissing a conventionally unattractive woman, while a girl tries to steal his ring; the other is listening to a drunken bore. At the other end of the table the mayor is collapsing from over indulgence in oysters, while the election agent is knocked out by a brick thrown through the window by the Tory mob. Other supporters throw furniture at the Tories. An Orange banner containing the words "Liberty and Loyalty" stands in the corner, while outside the window the Tories carry a banner with the word "Liberty". In an engraved version of the image, the words "and Property" have been appended [below "Liberty"]; the words "Marry and multiply in spite of the Devil" (referring to the Clandestine Marriages Act 1753) have been added to the second banner.
In the foreground a maimed soldier sits on the floor whilst a patron pours gin into his head wound.
Sir John Parnell, 1st Baronet is seen seated below the window, using his hand and a napkin as a puppet.
The composition of the scene parodies traditional images of the Last Supper and other Biblical feasts.
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Humours of an Election
The Humours of an Election is a series of four oil paintings and later engravings by William Hogarth that illustrate the election of a member of parliament in Oxfordshire in 1754. The oil paintings were created in 1755. The first three paintings, An Election Entertainment, Canvassing for Votes and The Polling, demonstrate the corruption endemic in parliamentary elections in the 18th century, before the Great Reform Act. The last painting, Chairing the Member, shows the celebrations of the victorious Tory candidates and their supporters.
At this time each constituency elected two MPs, and there was a property qualification for voters, so only a minority of the male population was enfranchised. There was no secret ballot, so bribery and intimidation were rife. However, this traditional view has been questioned by recent historians who observed lively local political participation in this time.
The originals are held by Sir John Soane's Museum, London. The works were also reproduced as a series of prints.
The painting depicts a tavern dinner organised by the Whig candidates, while the Tories protest outside. The Tories are carrying an antisemitic caricature of a Jew, a reference to Jewish Naturalisation Act 1753 recently passed by the Whig government. A Tory banner containing the words "Give us our Eleven days", a protest against the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, is on the tavern floor.
In the tavern the two Whig candidates are ingratiating themselves with supporters. One candidate is kissing a conventionally unattractive woman, while a girl tries to steal his ring; the other is listening to a drunken bore. At the other end of the table the mayor is collapsing from over indulgence in oysters, while the election agent is knocked out by a brick thrown through the window by the Tory mob. Other supporters throw furniture at the Tories. An Orange banner containing the words "Liberty and Loyalty" stands in the corner, while outside the window the Tories carry a banner with the word "Liberty". In an engraved version of the image, the words "and Property" have been appended [below "Liberty"]; the words "Marry and multiply in spite of the Devil" (referring to the Clandestine Marriages Act 1753) have been added to the second banner.
In the foreground a maimed soldier sits on the floor whilst a patron pours gin into his head wound.
Sir John Parnell, 1st Baronet is seen seated below the window, using his hand and a napkin as a puppet.
The composition of the scene parodies traditional images of the Last Supper and other Biblical feasts.