Lord Mendoza is provost of Oriel College, Oxford, commissioner for cultural recovery and renewal at DCMS and chair of The Landmark Trust and of the Illuminated River Foundation
It’s always such a treat to see “A Rake’s Progress” in its hidden place at the Sir John Soane’s Museum, WC2. But, of all Hogarth’s paintings, this self-portrait cuts straight through. Look at his stare, his dent of a scar, his Shakespeare and his dog, Trump. The trick of painting a portrait of a portrait. I wonder why he took 10 years to finish this picture. It’s hard to ignore his voice and personality looking straight out of the canvas, ready to take on a discussion or an argument and then lead you around 18th-century London
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Tales as old as time
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