Hogarth Exhibition - Tate Gallery

I managed to catch this 'major exhibition' of the works of Hogarth at the Tate Britain today. I think one of the problems I had with this exhibition was the volume of people allowed in to view at the same time. Many of the pieces are relatively small, and the captions attached are quite lengthy - obviously wanting to put the prints and paintings in some kind of context. The crowds gathered around each print meant it was difficult to appreciate the contents. The other problem stems from familiarity. Many of the pictures or series of pieces (Rake's Progress, Harlot's Progress, Marriage a la Mode) are reproduced so regularly that seeing the real thing holds no surprises. With large scale pictures this isn't a problem, but prints that appear true size in magazines are not going to be revelatory when seen hanging on a wall. I don't feel much link with the life of pre-industrial England - and although Hogarth was a campaigning artist many of the targets of his satire have been lost in time. He isn't really an innovator, nor is he a great portrait painter or landscape painter. The Holbein Exhibition earlier held many surprises and you could see the development of his art - into realism and perspective, the Constable Exhibition revealed so much about his techniques and composition, Hogarth tauught me nothing new. Interesting to see these works of art all in one place but not a truly memorable exhibition.