Art

Pair of Prints. Originally printed in 1751, each print depicts a different stage in the life of the fictional Tom Nero. Beginning with the torture of a dog as a child in the First stage of cruelty, Nero progresses to beating his horse as a man in the Second stage of cruelty. The prints were intended as a form of moral instruction; Hogarth was dismayed by the routine acts of cruelty he witnessed on the streets of London. Copper engraving. Uncoloured. Size: 33 x 40 cm. (13 x 15½ inches)