This German edition of Frederick Antal's influential study examines William Hogarth as one of the most significant European artists of the eighteenth century. The book opens with an introduction to Hogarth's intellectual world and the historical environment in which he worked. Antal subsequently analyses the artist's stylistic development, his relationship with eighteenth-century English society and his representations of the theatre. Separate chapters examine Hogarth's early works, the celebrated narrative cycles of the 1730s and 1740s, his mastery of expression and caricature, his history paintings and his later artistic production. The concluding chapters explore Hogarth's lasting influence on English painting and graphic art as well as his wider impact on European artistic developments. The volume is extensively illustrated and supported by scholarly notes, a catalogue of illustrations and an index, making it both a major reference work and an important contribution to the social history of art. (AI-generated content description)