item details
William Hogarth; artist; 1761; Greater London
Overview
The March of the Guards to Finchley, also known as The March to Finchley or The March of the Guards, is an oil painting by William Hogarth (1750). It has been owned by the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children since 1750 and now housed at the Foundling Museum in Holborn, London. Te Papa's engraving is by Thomas Cook, and is part of the series Hogarth Restored, published in 1806.
Hogarth was well known for his satirical works, and The March 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 original painting is a depiction of a fictional mustering of troops on Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road to march 11 km. 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 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 Frederick II, King of Prussia (Frederick the Great) who, being known for his skills as a soldier rather than an artist, was reportedly much more satisfied with the gift.
The British Museum website provides an excellent description of the engraving:
...Scene at Tottenham Court (after the painting in the Foundling Museum, London) with soldiers gathering to march north to defend London from the Jacobite rebels; the crowd includes, in the foreground, a man urinating painfully against a wall as he reads an advertisement for Dr Rock's remedy for venereal disease, an innocent young piper, a drunken drummer, a young soldier with a pregnant ballad seller (her basket contains "God Save our Noble King" and a portrait of the Duke of Cumberland) and a Jacobite harridan selling newspapers, a milkmaid being kissed by one soldier while another fills his hat from her pail, a muffin man, a chimney boy, a gin-seller whose emaciated baby reaches for a drink; in the background a boxing match takes place under the sign of Giles Gardiner (Adam and Eve), a wagon loaded with equipment follows the marching soldiers and, to right, prostitutes lean from the windows of a brothel at the sign of Charles II's head; beyond the sunlight shines on Hampstead village on the hill.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_March_of_the_Guards_to_Finchley
Dr Mark Stocker, Curator Historical International Art December 2016