The Rake's Progress The Rake's Progress The Rake's Progress is an English-language opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings "A Rake's Progress" (1733–1735) of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on 2 May 1947, in a Chicago exhibition. The story concerns the decline and fall of one Tom Rakewell, who deserts Anne Trulove for the delights of London in the company of Nick Shadow, who turns out to be the Devil. After several misadventures, all initiated by the devious Shadow, Tom
Paris in the 18th century several weeks. In the 18th century was held in the Salon Carré of the Louvre (which gave the Salon its name) and gradually expanded over the years to the Gallery of Apollo. At the 1761 Salon, thirty-three painters, nine sculptors, and eleven engravers contributed. Until 1791, it was limited to members of the Academy, and as many as five hundred paintings were shown at each Salon. On August 8, 1793, the Academy was suspended by the revolutionary National Convention, which decreed the abolition of all the royal artistic and literary academies. During the Revolution, Jacques Louis David, a friend of