John Gonson John Gonson Sir John Gonson (died 1765) was an English judge for nearly 50 years in the early 18th century, serving as a Justice of the Peace and Chairman of the Quarter Sessions for the City of Westminster. Gonson was a supporter of the Society for the Reformation of Manners, and was noted for his enthusiasm for raiding brothels and for passing harsh sentences. Gonson appears in contemporary court reports and newspaper articles, but is best known for having been depicted twice in "A Harlot's Progress", William Hogarth's series of paintings from 1731 and subsequent engravings from 1732. Gonson first
18th-century French literature Paul et Virginie by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. The exchange of ideas with other countries also increased. British ideas were particularly important, particularly such ideas as constitutional monarchy and romanticism, which greatly influenced French writers, particularly in the following century. The visual arts of the 18th century were highly decorative and oriented toward giving pleasure, as exemplified by the Regency Style and Louis XV Style, and the paintings of François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Watteau and Chardin, and portrait painters Quentin de La Tour, Nattier and Van Loo. Toward the end of the century, a more sober style appeared, aimed at