The Four Stages of Cruelty

The Four Stages of Cruelty is a series of four engravings published in 1751 by William Hogarth, an English artist credited with pioneering Western sequential art. Each print depicts a stage in the life of the fictional Tom Nero. Beginning with the torture of a dog as a child, Nero progresses to beating his horse, and then to robbery and murder. In the final scene, which is grisly even by modern standards, Nero’s body is dissected after his execution. Why did Hogarth create the series? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

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