A Midnight Modern Conversation

Unknown German artist after William Hogarth (1697–1764)

Late 18th c. Oil on canvas

The satiric-moralising art of the 18th-century English painter and printmaker William Hogarth was widely known and commented on during his lifetime. He achieved international fame mainly thanks to his series of satirical prints, in which he criticised the vices of society, sometimes in a rather robustly grotesque manner. Such prints were particularly appreciated among the German bourgeoisie.

One of the first engravings by Hogarth to achieve international fame in Europe was “A Midnight Modern Conversation” (1732/33), preceded by a painting on the same topic. The picture inspired a number of poems and plays, and shortly after the print was issued, characters from it appeared on pipe bowls, punch dishes etc. Dozens of copies were made of the engraving as well as the painting.

The “Hogarth” in Mikkel’s collection, painted by an unknown artist from Germany at the end of the 18th century, is unique because the men involved in the “conversation” have been replaced by women. The signature in the lower left corner of the painting is W. HOGARTH 173…., mistaken by Johannes Mikkel to be Hogarth's actual signature.