''The Shrimp Girl'' is a painting by the
English artist
William Hogarth
William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...
. It was painted around 1740–1745, and is held by the
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...
.
The painting, a relatively late work by Hogarth, is one of several in which he experimented with a loose, almost
impressionistic
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
style comparable to the work of
Fragonard. In its subject matter, it resembles the prints of hawkers and traders popular in Hogarth's day.
The painting depicts a woman selling shellfish on the streets of London, typically a job for the wives and daughters of fishmongers who owned stalls in markets such as
Billingsgate
Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile.
The modern Ward extends south to th ...
. The subject balances a large basket on her head, bearing shrimps and mussels, together with a half-pint pewter pot as a measure. Its size suggests that it was intended as a portrait, rather than a sketch for a larger work.
It is not strictly finished and was still in Hogarth's estate after his death. His widow Jane was said to have told visitors on showing the picture to them: "They say he could not paint flesh. There is flesh and blood for you."
The Shrimp Girl: about 1740–5, William Hogarth
National Gallery, London, UK. It was only sold after his wife's death in 1789, and first received its title ''The Shrimp Girl'' in a Christie's
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...
sale catalogue.
See also
* List of works by William Hogarth
This is a list of works by William Hogarth by publication date (if known).
As a printmaker Hogarth often employed other engravers to produce his work and frequently revised his works between one print run and the next, so it is often difficult to ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrimp Girl, The
Paintings by William Hogarth
Paintings in the National Gallery, London
1745 paintings
Paintings of women