1-192-391 - © London Museum/Heritage-Images

'Masquerades and Operas. Burlington Gate', 18th century. On the left devils lead a group of people dressed for a masquerade. On the right a crowd of people queue outside a theatre to see a production of Dr Faustus. A man dressed as a harlequin points to the advertisement above the entrance. No one is waiting to enter the Royal Academy of Arts in the background. In the foreground a man wheels a wheelbarrow through the streets which contains works by Shakespeare, Ben Jonson and Dryden proclaiming them to be waste paper. Hogarth is expressing his belief that the popularity of amusements such as masquerades were degrading public tastes and morals.