The March of the Guards to Finchley
Encyclopedia
The March of the Guards to Finchley, also known as The March to Finchley or The March of the Guards, is a 1750 oil-on-canvas painting by English
artist William Hogarth
, owned by the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children
since 1750 and now housed at the Foundling Museum
. Hogarth was well-known for his satirical works, and The March of the Guards to Finchley has been said to have given full scope to this sense of satire; it was described by Hogarth himself as "steeped in humour".
The painting is a depiction of a fictional mustering of troops on the Tottenham Court Road
to march north to Finchley
to defend the capital from the second Jacobite rebellion of 1745, which was part of a series of uprisings that had been occurring since the late 17th century and were aimed at returning the Stuart Dynasty to the throne after the Glorious Revolution
of 1688. It portrays the soldiers in a humorous light, placing exaggerated emphasis on their lack of training and respect for discipline.
The March of the Guards to Finchley was originally intended to be a gift to the incumbent King of England, George II
. However, George II was insulted by the apparent jab at his best troops, and rejected it when it was offered to him. Upset at the King's spurning of his work, Hogarth opted to change the engraving and present the painting instead to the King of Prussia
, Frederick II
, who, being known for his skills as a soldier rather than an artist, was reportedly much more satisfied with the gift.
The Jacobite risings were a series of rebellions affecting all of the British Isles except for Wales
and that occurred between 1688 and 1746, four years before the painting of March of the Guards to Finchley. Centred on attempts by Jacobites to restore James II
and his descendants, the House of Stuart
, to the throne, there were two major uprisings, referred to as the "First" and "Second" "Jacobite Rebellions" respectively, the first having taken place in 1715 and the second thirty years later in 1745. This painting shows a fictional incident during the second rising.
The "'45" was the product of the disappointment of Charles Edward Stuart
, the exiled Jacobite pretender
, with the French's unwillingness to invade England to restore the House of Stuart
to power. In 1744, Charles decided to finance the military and social costs of an uprising, believing that he would be able to take the kingdom. With the support of various Scottish Highland
clans, Stuart was initially successful. The rebels defeated government forces at the Battle of Prestonpans
, and captured Edinburgh
. The Stuart army invaded England, passing through Carlisle and reaching Derby
on 4 December. However, promised support from France failed to arrive, and, in the absence of an English popular uprising, Charles assented to the demand of his Council of War to return to Scotland. Eventually, the Stuart army was comprehensively defeated at Culloden Moor on 16 April 1746.
Hogarth completed March of the Guards to Finchley in 1750. The work was initially meant as a gift to George II, and a print was sent before the release of the painting to the Royal Palace for his approval. However, George II had been expecting an artwork that honoured his most favoured guards, not mocked them – accounts state he was offended by what he considered an insult on Hogarth's part. The following dialogue is said to have taken place between George II and the deliverer of the portrait, the Earl of Harrington, when the painting was taken to the King for inspection:
Soon thereafter, the painting was returned to Hogarth, who was reportedly mortified by the King's response to what he considered to be one of his finest works. Hogarth later modified the inscription to read "the King of Prussia", rather than "the King of England", before presenting the work to Frederick II of Prussia, who met the work with more enthusiasm and acknowledgment of its artistry. However, Frederick II was certainly no expert on the arts, and he was more known on the battlefield; some have speculated that this explains his positive reception to a work depicting the English military in poor form.
The patriotism of the painting provides a satirical counterpoint to Hogarth's overt antipathy to the French, evident in his painting The Gate of Calais
, completed in 1748. Hogarth's later dedication of March to the King of Prussia further enforces this view; Frederick II was a renowned military strategist, but not an art connoisseur. The composition of the picture may have been inspired by Jean-Antoine Watteau's Départ de Garnison.
An engraved
version, by Hogarth's assistant, Luke Sullivan
, was published shortly after the painting was completed, though Hogarth made further alterations to the engraving ten years later. The engraving was unusual in that it was not a reversed image of the original painting. Hogarth priced the published artwork for a price of seven shillings and sixpence each copy, rising to half a Guinea after the subscription closed. In advertisements for the painting, Hogarth referred to a subscription-based extra whereby buyers who deposited another three shillings on top of the seven and sixpence would be considered in a lottery for the ownership of the original copy, which would be delivered to the winning subscriber after the engraving had been finished. Hogarth's engraving of A Stand of Arms, Musical Instruments, Etc. served as the subscription and lottery ticket. As noted by Hogarth in the May 1, 1750 edition of The General Advertiser, this subscription offer ended on April 30, 1750. At the day of closure, there were 1843 chances sold and 167 chances still remaining in Hogarth's lottery, and he gave this remainder to the Foundling Hospital
, an establishment to which he had, in the past, been a lucrative donor. Holding almost 10% of the tickets, the Hospital won the lottery and the original; Hogarth scholar Ronald Paulson considers the lottery was rigged from the start. The Hospital – now known as the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children – still owns the picture today. It is on display at the Foundling Museum
.
, a bustling street on the north side of London. The King's guard have rendezvoused there on their way to Scotland to engage the rebels, and numerous soldiers are caught amongst the crowd. Orderly lines of soldiers march away in the distance; meanwhile, a disarrayed, misshapen mass of soldiers engaging in a range of unbecoming behaviours crowds the foreground. Paradoxically, the work both highlights the dissolute and disreputable nature of the guardsmen and shows that they can be transformed into a disciplined fighting force, with the drummer and boy fifer summoning the soldiers to their duty.
In the approximate centre of the piece, two women apparently quarrel fiercely over the courtship
of a grenadier. The woman to his right, an impregnated ballad-singer, carries a basket full of copies of "God Save the King", while the older woman to his left, dressed in dark priest's robes with a crucifix
swinging around the neck, holds a rolled Jacobite newspaper above her head. Some critics have seen Hogarth's incorporation of the "God Save the King" text to represent public support for the Crown: English musician and author Percy Scholes
said the painting symbolises the nation "wavering between the Hanoverian Protestant Succession and Stuart Romanist Succession", with "God Save the King" "thoroughly associated with the former."
Behind the three, another soldier and a milkmaid
are caught in a passionate embrace. A drummer standing to the left is similarly the centre of feminine attention – perhaps his wife and child; behind, a man urinates against the tavern wall, pained by his venereal infection. Further to the right, near the edge of the painting, a drunken soldier has collapsed to the ground from his own intoxication; despite his state, he rejects the water his comrade behind him is offering him, and instead reaches for another measure of gin
from the woman to his left. Soldiers directly behind him – one of whom clenches an upturned knife – are robbing the civilians. Nearby, a hungry guard gladly takes food from the platter of a pie
man. To the left-hand-side of the middleground, a boxing match between two soldiers is underway, with an eager group of spectators onlooking. Across the street, numerous prostitutes holler down to the men from open windows of Mother Douglas's house, as do soldiers to their cohorts.
According to Hogarth, several of the more prominent soldiers featured in the painting – such as the grenadier, the drummer and the drunkard – were based from models observed before the creation of the artwork. Notable in particular among these is Lord Albemarle Bertie
, who was used as the model for the man seen standing with fists clenched behind the two boxers.
's Tom Jones
. In his Hogarth's Literary Relationships, Robert E. Moore states that the "elements" of comedy" in The March of the Guards to Finchley are "the very essence of Fielding's comedy as well":
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
artist William Hogarth
William Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
, owned by the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children
Thomas Coram Foundation for Children
The Thomas Coram Foundation for Children is a large children's charity in London which uses the working name Coram ....
since 1750 and now housed at the Foundling Museum
Foundling Museum
The Foundling Museum in London tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britain's first home for abandoned children. The museum houses the nationally important Foundling Hospital Art Collection as well as the Gerald Coke Handel Collection, the world's greatest privately amassed collection of...
. Hogarth was well-known for his satirical works, and The March of the Guards to Finchley has been said to have given full scope to this sense of satire; it was described by Hogarth himself as "steeped in humour".
The painting is a depiction of a fictional mustering of troops on the Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road is a major road in central London, United Kingdom, running from St Giles Circus north to Euston Road, near the border of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile...
to march north to Finchley
Finchley
Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...
to defend the capital from the second Jacobite rebellion of 1745, which was part of a series of uprisings that had been occurring since the late 17th century and were aimed at returning the Stuart Dynasty to the throne after the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688. It portrays the soldiers in a humorous light, placing exaggerated emphasis on their lack of training and respect for discipline.
The March of the Guards to Finchley was originally intended to be a gift to the incumbent King of England, George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
. However, George II was insulted by the apparent jab at his best troops, and rejected it when it was offered to him. Upset at the King's spurning of his work, Hogarth opted to change the engraving and present the painting instead to the King of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, Frederick II
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
, who, being known for his skills as a soldier rather than an artist, was reportedly much more satisfied with the gift.
Historical background
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and that occurred between 1688 and 1746, four years before the painting of March of the Guards to Finchley. Centred on attempts by Jacobites to restore James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
and his descendants, the House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
, to the throne, there were two major uprisings, referred to as the "First" and "Second" "Jacobite Rebellions" respectively, the first having taken place in 1715 and the second thirty years later in 1745. This painting shows a fictional incident during the second rising.
The "'45" was the product of the disappointment of Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
, the exiled Jacobite pretender
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
, with the French's unwillingness to invade England to restore the House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
to power. In 1744, Charles decided to finance the military and social costs of an uprising, believing that he would be able to take the kingdom. With the support of various Scottish Highland
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
clans, Stuart was initially successful. The rebels defeated government forces at the Battle of Prestonpans
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian...
, and captured Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. The Stuart army invaded England, passing through Carlisle and reaching Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
on 4 December. However, promised support from France failed to arrive, and, in the absence of an English popular uprising, Charles assented to the demand of his Council of War to return to Scotland. Eventually, the Stuart army was comprehensively defeated at Culloden Moor on 16 April 1746.
Background
- "Pray, who is this Hogarth?"
- "A painter, my liege."
- "I hate painting and poetry too! Neither the one nor the other ever did any good!"
- "The picture, please your majesty, must undoubtedly be considered as a burlesque!"
- "What? A painter burlesque a soldier? He deserves to be picketedPicquetThe picquet was a method of torture used as military punishment in vogue in late medieval Europe.The punishment of the picquet required placing a stake in the ground with the exposed end facing upward. The exposed end had a rounded point. The malefactor was typically a junior officer who had...
for his insolence! Take this trumpery out of my sight."
Soon thereafter, the painting was returned to Hogarth, who was reportedly mortified by the King's response to what he considered to be one of his finest works. Hogarth later modified the inscription to read "the King of Prussia", rather than "the King of England", before presenting the work to Frederick II of Prussia, who met the work with more enthusiasm and acknowledgment of its artistry. However, Frederick II was certainly no expert on the arts, and he was more known on the battlefield; some have speculated that this explains his positive reception to a work depicting the English military in poor form.
The patriotism of the painting provides a satirical counterpoint to Hogarth's overt antipathy to the French, evident in his painting The Gate of Calais
The Gate of Calais
The Gate of Calais or O, the Roast Beef of Old England is a 1748 painting by William Hogarth, reproduced as a print from an engraving the next year. Hogarth produced the painting directly after his return from France, where he had been arrested as a spy while sketching in Calais...
, completed in 1748. Hogarth's later dedication of March to the King of Prussia further enforces this view; Frederick II was a renowned military strategist, but not an art connoisseur. The composition of the picture may have been inspired by Jean-Antoine Watteau's Départ de Garnison.
An engraved
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
version, by Hogarth's assistant, Luke Sullivan
Luke Sullivan
Luke Sullivan is an Australian visual artist most notable for his internationally controversial work, The Fourth Secret of Fatima....
, was published shortly after the painting was completed, though Hogarth made further alterations to the engraving ten years later. The engraving was unusual in that it was not a reversed image of the original painting. Hogarth priced the published artwork for a price of seven shillings and sixpence each copy, rising to half a Guinea after the subscription closed. In advertisements for the painting, Hogarth referred to a subscription-based extra whereby buyers who deposited another three shillings on top of the seven and sixpence would be considered in a lottery for the ownership of the original copy, which would be delivered to the winning subscriber after the engraving had been finished. Hogarth's engraving of A Stand of Arms, Musical Instruments, Etc. served as the subscription and lottery ticket. As noted by Hogarth in the May 1, 1750 edition of The General Advertiser, this subscription offer ended on April 30, 1750. At the day of closure, there were 1843 chances sold and 167 chances still remaining in Hogarth's lottery, and he gave this remainder to the Foundling Hospital
Foundling Hospital
The Foundling Hospital in London, England was founded in 1741 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" was used in a more general sense than it is today, simply...
, an establishment to which he had, in the past, been a lucrative donor. Holding almost 10% of the tickets, the Hospital won the lottery and the original; Hogarth scholar Ronald Paulson considers the lottery was rigged from the start. The Hospital – now known as the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children – still owns the picture today. It is on display at the Foundling Museum
Foundling Museum
The Foundling Museum in London tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britain's first home for abandoned children. The museum houses the nationally important Foundling Hospital Art Collection as well as the Gerald Coke Handel Collection, the world's greatest privately amassed collection of...
.
Analysis
The painting depicts a scene on Tottenham Court RoadTottenham Court Road
Tottenham Court Road is a major road in central London, United Kingdom, running from St Giles Circus north to Euston Road, near the border of the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile...
, a bustling street on the north side of London. The King's guard have rendezvoused there on their way to Scotland to engage the rebels, and numerous soldiers are caught amongst the crowd. Orderly lines of soldiers march away in the distance; meanwhile, a disarrayed, misshapen mass of soldiers engaging in a range of unbecoming behaviours crowds the foreground. Paradoxically, the work both highlights the dissolute and disreputable nature of the guardsmen and shows that they can be transformed into a disciplined fighting force, with the drummer and boy fifer summoning the soldiers to their duty.
Courtship
Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
of a grenadier. The woman to his right, an impregnated ballad-singer, carries a basket full of copies of "God Save the King", while the older woman to his left, dressed in dark priest's robes with a crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
swinging around the neck, holds a rolled Jacobite newspaper above her head. Some critics have seen Hogarth's incorporation of the "God Save the King" text to represent public support for the Crown: English musician and author Percy Scholes
Percy Scholes
Percy Alfred Scholes was an English musician, journalist and prolific writer, whose best-known achievement was his compilation of the first edition of The Oxford Companion to Music...
said the painting symbolises the nation "wavering between the Hanoverian Protestant Succession and Stuart Romanist Succession", with "God Save the King" "thoroughly associated with the former."
Behind the three, another soldier and a milkmaid
Milkmaid
A milkmaid is a girl or woman employed to milk dairy cows. She also used the milk to prepare dairy products such as cream, butter, and cheese...
are caught in a passionate embrace. A drummer standing to the left is similarly the centre of feminine attention – perhaps his wife and child; behind, a man urinates against the tavern wall, pained by his venereal infection. Further to the right, near the edge of the painting, a drunken soldier has collapsed to the ground from his own intoxication; despite his state, he rejects the water his comrade behind him is offering him, and instead reaches for another measure of gin
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
from the woman to his left. Soldiers directly behind him – one of whom clenches an upturned knife – are robbing the civilians. Nearby, a hungry guard gladly takes food from the platter of a pie
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....
man. To the left-hand-side of the middleground, a boxing match between two soldiers is underway, with an eager group of spectators onlooking. Across the street, numerous prostitutes holler down to the men from open windows of Mother Douglas's house, as do soldiers to their cohorts.
According to Hogarth, several of the more prominent soldiers featured in the painting – such as the grenadier, the drummer and the drunkard – were based from models observed before the creation of the artwork. Notable in particular among these is Lord Albemarle Bertie
Albemarle Bertie
Albemarle Bertie may refer to:* Albemarle Bertie , MP for Lincolnshire 1705–1708, Cockermouth 1708–1710 and Boston 1734–1741* Albemarle Bertie, 9th Earl of Lindsey , MP for Stamford 1801–1909...
, who was used as the model for the man seen standing with fists clenched behind the two boxers.
Reception
Critics have likened the chaotic scene of The March of the Guards to Finchley to the narrative of English satirist Henry FieldingHenry Fielding
Henry Fielding was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the author of the novel Tom Jones....
's Tom Jones
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, often known simply as Tom Jones, is a comic novel by the English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding. First published on 28 February 1749, Tom Jones is among the earliest English prose works describable as a novel...
. In his Hogarth's Literary Relationships, Robert E. Moore states that the "elements" of comedy" in The March of the Guards to Finchley are "the very essence of Fielding's comedy as well":
At a first hasty glance the multiplicity of characters and action in Tom Jones, once the story has taken to the road, suggests a chaos just like the wild disorder of the "March to Finchley" [...] the structure of Tom Jones is well-nigh perfect, one of the marvels of English fiction. Likewise, in the field of painting, there has seldom been a more ordered chaos than that of the "March to Finchley".