The Gate of Calais

In July 1748, Hogarth took a trip to Paris, taking advantage of the armistice which preceded the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in October that year. He travelled with some artist friends, including Thomas Hudson, Joseph and Alexander Van Aken, Francis Hayman, and Henry Cheere. George Vertue reports that the group split up on the return journey, with Hogarth and Hayman making their way to Calais to catch the boat to England and the others continuing their tour to Flanders and the Netherlands. While waiting in Calais, Hogarth decided to sketch the gate of the port and drawbridge which were still adorned with the English arms (Calais having been an English enclave until 1558 and still retaining many English architectural features). His sketching of the fortifications aroused suspicion, and he was arrested and taken before the governor. Most accounts relate that Hogarth showed his other sketches to his captors; it becoming clear that he was merely an artist, he was discharged into the parole of his landlord to await the changing of the wind and the boat to England. Horace Walpole elaborates the account, reporting that Hogarth was forced to demonstrate his abilities by producing sketches and caricatures as demanded by the French, "particularly a scene of the shore, with an immense piece of beef landing for the Lion d'Argent, the English inn at Calais, and several hungry friars following it." At any rate, Hogarth was discharged and returned to England by the next boat. ==Painting==

According to Hogarth's autobiographical notes, he started on the painting as soon as he arrived home from Calais. In the foreground, a Highlander, an exile from the Jacobite rising of 1745, It was subsequently acquired by the 1st Duke of Westminster at an auction at Christie's in 1891 for £2572; he donated it to the National Gallery in 1895, and it was transferred to the Tate Gallery in 1951. The gate itself was levelled in 1895, the landing at the port followed by crossing over an ancient drawbridge and entering through the old gateway into a "dark narrow" street, then emerging into a spacious Place with its town hall now lost. ==Print==

The print, produced from an engraving that was completed in part by Charles Mosley, was published on 6 March 1749. Entitled "O The Roast Beef of Old England", it was priced at 5 shillings and advertised as: The main difference between the painting and the engraving is the crow on top of the gate, which is absent in the engraving. The crow was a late addition to the painting to disguise an accidental tear, apparently caused by the canvas falling on a nail shortly after it was completed, although no evidence of damage was found when the painting was restored in 1966. ==See also==