The topic of this blog entry is a real hidden gem worth the time and effort to find and watch it. This mysterious gem is hidden behind the St. Bartholomew Hospital’s museum.
William Hogarth lived in London between 1697 and 1764. He was born in Bartholomew Close which is now part of the Hospital’s buildings. He is one of the most celebrated English painters, whose work, especially the satirical series of etchings depicting ‘moral’ issues, gave his unique style the name Hogarthian. See ‘Gin Lane’ etching here.
The murals I refer to are painted all over the staircase leading to the Hospital’s Great Hall in the north wing. The north wing was built in 1733, and the work to decorate the staircase was initially commissioned by an Italian painter. Hogarth, as mentioned above, had a soft spot for St. Bartholomew Hospital, and offered to do the work for free.
However, while referred to as Mural, they are canvases, for which he needed to paint them in sections and hang them when ready. The result is a collage of various, somewhat unrelated, topics, some regarded by critics as kitsch. A fabulous one, but kitsch nonetheless. One of the reasons for that is the main feature of “Jesus at the Pool of Bethesda” opposite the main door, in which Christ is illustrated healing the sick, each with a different illness.
