Hogarth's Marriage-à-la-mode
Bonnet found
William Hogarth, Marriage-à-la-mode, Plate 3, 1745, etching and engraving, Drawings, Paintings and Prints Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library
Bonnet found
Squanderfield and his young mistress visit a 'quack doctor' where he questions the effectiveness of the mercury pills proscribed for his condition. The doctor is not a good advertisement for this cure. Like Squanderfield, both he and his assistant are ravaged with syphilis sores. The deformed skull sitting on the table and the multiple other signs of mortality signal the fate of everybody in this room.
The devil is in the detail
The passive and downcast mistress dabs a sore on her mouth, the first sign of the disease. The pocket-watch hanging from her belt indicates that her time is up. She has become a victim of Squanderfield's carefree and excessive lifestyle.
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