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
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