William Hogarth, Marriage-à-la-Mode, plate 4.
351 mm x 445 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: Prudence Cuming Associates Limited.
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Marriage-à-la-Mode, plate 4
William Hogarth (1697 - 1764)
RA Collection: Art
Engraving reproducing (in reverse) the fourth of William Hogarth's set of six paintings Marriage A-la-Mode (1743-4, The National Gallery, London). The set, one of Hogarth's 'modern moral subjects', narrates an ill-fated marriage between the son of an impoverished aristocrat, the Earl of Squander, and the daughter of a wealthy City alderman. Hogarth's print Characters and Caricaturas (17/3433) was issued as the subscription ticket to purchasers of the set.
This fourth plate, 'The Toilette', contrasts with the unfaithful viscount's visit to the doctor in the previous plate (17/3493) by showing the wife (now a countess) in her boudoir amongst the trappings of high society. She sits on the left talking to the lawyer Silvertongue (also seen in the first plate), who lounges on the sofa with indecorous familiarity. A hairdresser curls the countess's hair, a singer and flautist provide music, and two black pages serve tea and unpack recent purchases.
Object details
351 mm x 445 mm
Hogarth's prints. Vol. I. - [s.l.]: [n.d.]
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