Vive la Différence

By PHILIPPA STOCKLEY

Here’s William Hogarth, laugh-aloud funny; sly; satirical; sharply observant, and technically brilliant. In a slightly baggy, but also wonderfully massive exhibition, Tate Britain’s new show, Hogarth and Europe, has more than 60 Hogarths (paintings and prints) and a similar number by European contemporaries. Some highlights haven’t been seen here for decades, such as Hogarth’s superb portrait of independent Miss Mary Edwards (1742) who owned many of his works. In sultry crimson silk, diamonds and pearls, she is regally surrounded by clear signs of her wealth and power, including a portrait bust of Elizabeth I.