Bernd Krysmanski Books

"This study sets out to show that none of the extent portraits of Frederick the Great depict the true appearance of the Prussian king. It was the English satirist, William Hogarth, who produced the only accurate contemporary representation of the monarch. Hogarth portrays Frederick II as a gay flautist, with a prominent aquiline nose, accompanying a homosexual castrato on his German flute, thereby incidentally mocking a paedophilic lord. It is even more astonishing that Hogarth outed the Prussian king as gay as early as 1744 -- earlier than any other published document or picture, a remarkable revelation of Hogarth's satire."--Back cover

If you view William Hogarth as a moralist who supported foundlings and provided ethical guidance through his pictorial satires, it's time to reconsider. This thoroughly researched and provocative study uncovers a different side of Hogarth: an immoral English artist who reveled in debauchery and mercilessly critiqued his contemporaries. While known as a pictorial satirist and successful print-dealer, Hogarth indulged in obscene pleasures, frequented prostitutes, and possibly had paedophilic tendencies, ultimately succumbing to the effects of syphilis. The popular painter and engraver emerges here as a dark humorist, engaging in sexual double entendres and creating blasphemous motifs that satirically attacked “high” religious art, while debunking the 18th-century fascination with Old Master works. This book is poised to transform how we perceive Hogarth and his contributions to art.