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How can historical knowledge help in understanding the famous Gin Lane picture by Hogarth?1691694146000This is a very famous picture by an artist called William Hogarth. He was one of the most celebrated artists of his day. He was famous for using his art to make a comment on the Britain he saw around him. He produced this picture in 1750-51. It is called Gin Lane and was one of a pair. The other was called Beer Alley. With Hogarth pictures it really is a case of ‘the more you look, the more you see’. Look at it very carefully. Everything in it has meaning. Circle the following things in the picture: An alcoholic mother pours gin into a child’s mouth. Half-naked prostitute fails to see her baby tumbling to its death. A carpenter and a housewife wearing ragged clothes desperately pawn their tools and pots and pans in order to get more gin. A boy competes with a dog to gnaw on a bone. The black dog symbolising despair. A hanged barber. Drunken people rioting and causing havoc A collapsing building representing a collapsed society. What is the historical context to this picture?In 1689, an Act of Parliament banned the import of French wine and spirits. At the same time the British government reduced the taxes on barley to encourage the distillation of spirits. Gin became very cheap and so it was drunk by the poorest people. It might be that in 1743 an average of 10 litres of gin per person per year was being drunk by men, women and children. Gin gave comfort in a fast-changing and scary world. It also led to terrible consequences, with one case of a drunk nurse putting the baby on the fire instead of a log. Rumour spread quickly among people in the fast-growing cities and there was a sharp rise in disorder. There was also a rise in crime and deaths of children. Concerned people blamed gin. The Gin Craze has even been compared to the abuse of drugs in inner cities today. Hogarth produced this picture to raise awareness. He compared it to its partner, Beer Lane, where the people are portrayed as happy, well-fed and doing well. The 1736 Gin Act had already tried to make gin more expensive, but had little success in controlling sales as people simply sold it as medicine. Further attempts by the government to limit gin drinking caused riots and people who were suspected of being ‘informers’ were beaten up by the mobs. The Gin Act was repealed in 1743. It was bad harvests that reduced the availability of barley and therefore gin became more expensive and less fashionable. The King, Walpole, the Lords and the Commons were all afraid of the people rioting and would unite to put down riots and protests. Prepare two or three sentences to explain to historical context to ‘Gin Lane’ to a visitor to an art gallery. ................
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