The stage is clear for the Countess and her lover
Excerpt from the book 'What Great Paintings Say Vol. II' by Rose-Marie & Rainer Hagen
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Since Hogarth didn't like engraving pictures, he had the plates produced by French experts. Part of the edition also went on sale in France, accompanied by an explanatory text in French that Hogarth had asked a friend to provide for the purpose. It is from this that a number of the characters' names derive, such as Silvertongue. There were about a dozen major printsellers in London at that time, and Hogarth himself had his own shop. Earning a living with socially and politically satirical prints was more easily possible in England than elsewhere-because Parliament had abolished preliminary state censorship, because a law for which Hogarth himself had lobbied for the first time protected the copyright of the author, and because ever larger numbers of English were taking an interest in social and political affairs. Newspapers were available in coffeehouses, novels described the world of the poor and disadvantaged. Not only graphic artists, but also many writers-Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, Jonathan Swift-combined public-friendly criticism with humour, moralizing with laughter.
The majority of graphic artists did so at the crudest level, however. Hogarth brought art into play, and also humanity. He does not portray the lawyer and the unhappily married Earl and Countess Squander as objects of ridicule, at least not as he does the singer and his audience. He gives them the familiar pale faces of cosmopolitan society, lacking in irony. For Hogarth is directing his polemic in this series not against individuals, but against forced marriages, against the treatment of bride and groom as instruments through which to improve the finances or social standing of their families. It is society he is criticizing, not its victims.
Hogarth's viewpoint also reveals itself in the design of the "set". The colourful society is gathered in a room without doors or windows. There is no exit to be seen. The enormous pink bed in the shadowy alcove lures the lovers like a trap that has been craftily laid. The actors in this comedy, it would seem, are quite unable to escape their tragic fate.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Since Hogarth didn't like engraving pictures, he had the plates produced by French experts. Part of the edition also went on sale in France, accompanied by an explanatory text in French that Hogarth had asked a friend to provide for the purpose. It is from this that a number of the characters' names derive, such as Silvertongue. There were about a dozen major printsellers in London at that time, and Hogarth himself had his own shop. Earning a living with socially and politically satirical prints was more easily possible in England than elsewhere-because Parliament had abolished preliminary state censorship, because a law for which Hogarth himself had lobbied for the first time protected the copyright of the author, and because ever larger numbers of English were taking an interest in social and political affairs. Newspapers were available in coffeehouses, novels described the world of the poor and disadvantaged. Not only graphic artists, but also many writers-Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, Jonathan Swift-combined public-friendly criticism with humour, moralizing with laughter.
The majority of graphic artists did so at the crudest level, however. Hogarth brought art into play, and also humanity. He does not portray the lawyer and the unhappily married Earl and Countess Squander as objects of ridicule, at least not as he does the singer and his audience. He gives them the familiar pale faces of cosmopolitan society, lacking in irony. For Hogarth is directing his polemic in this series not against individuals, but against forced marriages, against the treatment of bride and groom as instruments through which to improve the finances or social standing of their families. It is society he is criticizing, not its victims.
Hogarth's viewpoint also reveals itself in the design of the "set". The colourful society is gathered in a room without doors or windows. There is no exit to be seen. The enormous pink bed in the shadowy alcove lures the lovers like a trap that has been craftily laid. The actors in this comedy, it would seem, are quite unable to escape their tragic fate.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Marriage A-la-Mode, 4, Detail 2 ("Sweet talk and sweet music")