Sigismunda mourning over the Heart of Guiscardo

Hogarth's Sigismunda Mourning over the Heart of Guiscardo from 1759, in the National Gallery, was his most controversial painting—an attempt to prove that a British painter could rival the Italian Old Masters in serious historical painting. The work was ridiculed by critics who found it overambitious and emotionally unconvincing, and the rejection wounded Hogarth deeply. The painting's troubled history reveals the cultural prejudices that British artists faced in claiming equality with the Continental grand manner.

Hogarth renders the grieving figure with a darker, more heavily worked technique than his usual crisp satirical style. The emotional intensity of the subject matter strains against his natural gifts for observation and social commentary, revealing the gap between ambition and aptitude that critics noted.