Hogarth & The Art of Noise

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Hogarth & the Art of Noise reveals Hogarth’s innovative use of sound, introducing visitors to a previously unexplored but important aspect of his art, and further cementing his reputation as the 18th century’s most original artist.

Famed for his social commentary, no painter before or since Hogarth has made such overt use of sound as a way of communicating a narrative. Taking as its focus the artist’s masterpiece, The March of the Guards to Finchley, the exhibition unpacks the painting’s rich social, cultural and political commentary, from the Jacobite uprising and the situation for chimney boys, to the origins of God Save the King.

Using sound, wall-based interpretation, engravings, and a specially-commissioned immersive soundscape by acclaimed musician and producer Martyn Ware, the exhibition reveals how Hogarth orchestrated the natural and man-made sounds of London, to depict the city in all its guises. Discover how the Foundling Hospital’s great artist-governor captured the vibrancy and complexity of contemporary 18th-century life and learn more about the context in which the Hospital was established.