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How did French Rococo art influence William Hogarth’s early work?

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The Painter and His Pug, self-portrait by William Hogarth, oil on canvas, 1745; in the Tate Gallery, London. — William Hogarth *The Painter and His Pug*, self-portrait by William Hogarth, oil on canvas, 1745; in the Tate Gallery, London.

Early in his career, William Hogarth’s work was significantly influenced by the elegance of French Rococo art and the style of the French painter Antoine Watteau.21

Following his elopement in 1729, Hogarth achieved public success with small-scale paintings known as "conversations," or conversation pieces. These works drew heavily upon the refined, lighthearted aesthetic characteristic of the French Rococo movement, which helped him attract an appreciative and wealthy clientele.2

Despite this early influence and his ability to incorporate the style's delicate qualities, Hogarth eventually grew tired of these smaller works, which required numerous portraits for relatively low pay. He soon shifted his focus toward recording humorous, everyday scenes from contemporary life, moving away from the Rococo influence toward a new, distinct form of secular narrative painting that emphasized moral instruction and social satire.21