Time has progressed, the old Earl has died and the Viscount and his wife are now Earl and Countess Squanderfield (note the coronet above her vanity mirror). Last edited on 7 September 2020, at 10:58, Marriage A-la-mode: a re-view of Hogarth's narrative art, "William Hogarth, Marriage A-la-Mode, Plate II, etching and engraving", "Art Critic London: Hogarth's Marriage A-la-Mode", Bomford, David and Roy, Ashok "Hogarth's 'Marriage à la Mode'", The six engravings (HD) with explanatory notes by John Nichols, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marriage_A-la-Mode_(Hogarth)&oldid=977180030, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Create a cartoon using the above persuasive techniques to communicate your idea. Contemporary editorial cartoons also communicate social and political messages through visuals. The satirical thrust of Marriage A-la-Mode is as much about patronage, aesthetics and taste as it is about marriage and morals. They are now owned by the British government and are part of the collection of the National Gallery. An exasperated steward holds a pile of bills that the couple is uninterested in paying, although the rather vulgar objets d’art, paintings and collectibles in the room indicate a well-financed household. Another cap, poking out of his coat pocket and detected by the poodle, is presumably from another female. Why do you notice this? The Tête à Tête is the second work in a set of six distinct (but interrelated) paintings that together, in a chronological order, form a coherent, meaningful (and silly!) The Library of Congress website- Interactive presentation on how to analyze editorial cartoons. 1031 North Olive Road The pictures are held in the National Gallery in London. Small groups can report back their findings to the class. The owner of the hotel has summoned a night watchman and constable, who enter the room just as Silvertongue – in his nightshirt – attempts to flee through the window. William Hogarth is most famous for his paintings on ‘modern moral subjects’, but it was the engravings of these images that gained him fame, as he could reach more people through the reproducible print. After Lane's death they became the property of his nephew, Colonel Cawthorn. A bagnio is a hotel that rents rooms by the hour. The lawyer has fatally stabbed the young man, and as he begins to buckle under his own weight, the Countess pleads for forgiveness, but the pose is deliberately theatrical and puts her sincerity into question. Everyone in the room seems ignorant of the black spot on the Viscount’s neck. They show the disastrous results of an ill-considered marriage for money or social status, and satirises patronage and aesthetics. What is being said with that exaggeration? When engraving copper plates the image engraved on the plate is a mirror image of the final print. These pictures were at first poorly received by the public, to the great disappointment of the artist. What do you notice first, second, third? Hailed as the ‘grandfather of satire,’ English artist, engraver and satirist William Hogarth created a body of scathing commentary through his work, critiquing aspects of 18th century English society like corrupt politics, religion, and even the evils of gin-drinking. His ‘take no prisoners’ approach held up a moralizing mirror to eighteenth century Britain where no social group or class was safe from his witty critique. Meanwhile, the other guests listen to a recital by an Italian singer whose elaborate wig, ringed fingers, and fancy earrings indicate that he is a castrato, another very fashionable “accoutrement” to upper class entertainments. She seems to be upset that one of her “girls” has developed venereal disease, but closer reading shows that she is probably the girl’s mother. Her posture indicates that she might be pregnant – but the identity of the father is brought into question by the carved face of a man watching her on the chimneypiece. Although this series of paintings are works of art in their own right, their original purpose was to provide the subjects for the series of engraved copper plate prints. A pile of money already sits on the table and the Alderman’s clerk hands the Earl his redeemed mortgage. Virtual Art Trivia Happy Hour – Halloween Themed! The Countess is conducting her toilette in a “charming” state of déshabille that implies she is so sought after that she has to socialize while she finishes dressing.