Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Marriage a-la-mode Hogarth 1743

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Marriage a-la-mode Hogarth 1743
Marriage a-la-mode, Hogarth: 1743
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Guests (at left)

  1. Italian: Castrato (long-limbed due to hormonal imbalance), nose like a pig: a monstrosity. Fingers crudely covered to excess with rings, wearing earrings Click to see. Possibly this is castrato Francesco Bernardi, or Giovanni Carestini, Senesino, or Farinelli. The castrato seems unaware that no one cares if he is singing.
  2. German: Hook nosed (not always used to stereotype Jews). The flutist is often said to be based upon Karl Friedrich Weidemann, a well known flutist of the time and music-teacher to George III, or a satirical depiction of Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia (a well known homosexual).
  3. French: hair in papers, dancing-master, crossed legs and fingers (sodomitical). Further away, a man screws up his face to make sure he doesn't look too bored. The last man cares not: he is snoring.
  4. Africa: Black servant (Colonialism).
  5. Orientalism: dark-skinned with turban.

Hogarth's Art click to see closeup

The coronet over the mirror and over the bed, along with the silver toilet service on the dressing table indicate that the old Earl Squanderfield has died and that his son is now the new Earl Squanderfield and that the son's wife is now Countess Squanderfield.

The lawyer Silvertongue is lounging on the sofa, with his shoes off and his feet up. He clearly feels at home and displays this with his offensively bad manners.

Although there are other guests in the room, the Countess, in her own display of bad manners, has her back to them, totally absorbed by Silvertongue. Furthermore, the Countess displays her bourgoise taste, with jewelery in her hair, and on her fingers, she is dressed in a revealing, low-cut gown (her nouveau riche Merchant family background).

Silvertongue is making an assignation with the Countess, showing her a ticket to a masquerade and pointing to a painting of a masquerade on a screen behind the sofa. The intention being that, as the guests at the masquerade will be wearing masks and therefore be unidentifiable, the Countess and Silvertongue can safely attend the masquerade together.

The Countess is now a mother as, hanging on the back of her chair, is a rope of coral, used by teething children. However, the child is not in the picture, suggesting a lack of maternal concern. The book on the sofa by Silvertongue's feet is "The Sopha", the licentious and popular novel by Crébillon.

A Swiss valet-de-chambre is curling the Countess's hair (she doesn't feel that being seen this way is an embarrassment).

The lady in white is overcome by music and singing. She is based upon Mrs. Lane-Fox, later Lady Bingley, who was known to have a passion for Italian music. While Mrs. Lane-Fox is distracted by the Italian music, her arms spread widely, suggestive of other activities that take place on the bed, immediately behind her. However, more significantly, a Black servant is serving cocoa to this lady in white. The cocoa is fresh from African or New World colonial slave plantations. This servant is one of the few people that does not appear decadent (but wait!, Black men are supposed to be sexual savages).

The two old master paintings on the right wall show Lot and his Daughters, a Biblical reference to incest, and Jupiter and Io (after Correggio), a mythological reference to seduction.

The lower picture on the left wall is of the Rape of Ganymede (after Michelangelo), a reference to homosexual seduction of pubescent boys click to see detail.

The upper left painting is the lawyer himself, Silvertongue. Clearly, the new Earl has not visited his wife's bedroom for a long time.

The black page boy in oriental costume at the bottom right corner is examining a collection of hideous ornaments, purchased at the sale of Timothy Babyhouse, Esquire (A book at the feet of the Oriental says "A Catelogue of the Entire Colection of the Late Sr Timy. Babyhouse to be Sold by Auction." (in King's English spelling). The page boy points to the horns on a statue of Actaeon, with an impish grin: he knows what the lady of the house has been up to ("cornudo" are horns that symbolize cuckoldry).

Scattered on the floor on the left are a number of invitations: "Lady Squanderfield's company is desired at Lady Townly's drum next Monday;" "Lady Squanderfield's company is desired at Lady Heatham's drum-major next Sunday" and "Lady Squanderfield's company is desired at Miss Hairbrain's rout." Hogarth making a joke with the sequence "drum," "drum-major" and "rout"). There is also a note, "Count Basset begs to know how Lade Squanderfield sleapt last nit." Obviously Count Basset's English spelling shows that he is well educated!

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