Hogarth's Marriage-à-la-mode
The transaction is brokered
William Hogarth, Marriage-à-la-mode, Plate 1, 1745, etching and engraving, Drawings, Paintings and Prints collection, Alexander Turnbull Library, Reference: D-020-046
The transaction is brokered
The Earl of Squanderfield and the unnamed merchant sign a marriage contract uniting their families. The merchant is buying his way into aristocracy, the Earl securing money to fund his extravagant lifestyle. Their newly bonded children look on with a mixture of boredom and resignation. The lawyer Silvertongue 'consoles' the bride-to-be.
The devil is in the detail
A painting of Saint Sebastian hangs behind Silvertongue. The arrows in the painting echo the quill held by the lawyer to his heart. Silvertongue has been shot by Cupid's arrow, and is interested in dishing out more than legal advice to the unnamed bride-to-be. The pictured martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, however, foreshadows the fate awaiting Silvertongue if he pursues his new love interest.
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