item details
Bernard Baron; engraver; 1745; Greater London
Overview
The second of a series of six engravings, based on paintings by William Hogarth (1743-45). The paintings are in the National Gallery, London. Hogarth commissioned three French expatriate specialist engravers (in this print Bernard Baron), as they were the finest practitioners of the medium in mid-18th century London. The importation of French fashions, manners and morals, which Hogarth considered effete and affected, is also satirised in the series.
In Marriage à-la-mode, Hogarth challenges the ideal view that the rich live virtuous lives with a heavy satire on the notion of arranged marriages. In each piece, he shows the young couple and their family and acquaintances at their worst: engaging in affairs, drinking, gambling, and numerous other vices. This is widely regarded as his finest project, certainly the best example of his serially-planned story cycles.
In this second print in the series, The tête-à-tête, there are signs that the still recent marriage has already begun to break down. The husband and wife appear uninterested in one another, amidst evidence of their separate overindulgences the night before. A small dog finds a lady's cap in the husband's coat pocket, indicating his adulterous ventures. A broken sword at his feet shows that he has been in a fight. The open posture of the wife's legs also indicates unfaithfulness. Furthermore, as Hogarth noted, 'A lock of hair falling thus cross the temples ... has an effect too alluring to be strictly decent, as is very well known to the loose and lowest class of women'. As the wife aspires to the highest class, this reinforces her vulgarity and moral laxity. The disarray of the house and the desparing servant holding a stack of unpaid bills shows that the affairs of the household are a mess.
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_%C3%A0-la-mode_(Hogarth)
Dr Mark Stocker, Curator Historical International Art November 2016