|
| “
|
So now let me introduce you to the characters that are all assembled in
this, the first painting of the series. Seated at the far right
of the foreground we have the Earl of Squander. The index finger
of his left hand points to an unfurled parchment depicting his family
tree, which shows his family being direct descendants of William, Duke
of Normandy (William the Conqueror).
Hogarth has cynically incorporated a broken
branch in to the family tree, which was indicative of a prior
marriage, but one outside the nobility and was thus disowned, hence the
break from the main tree. Obviously one would not have shown such
a thing on a real family tree but it is reminding the viewers that this
great noble’s set of descendants were not quite as noble as the earl
would have us believe!
Although titled, the man is almost penniless and heavily in debt due to
his foolish ways and needs urgently to replenish his wealth.
Despite his poverty look at the luxurious and costly clothes he is
wearing. There is an arrogance about the man. He has
surrounded himself with symbols of his nobility. There are
coronets everywhere. If you look carefully you can see how
Hogarth has painted them on his foot stool, on the canopy above his
head, and even on the head of his crutches. Observe
how Hogarth has painted him with his right foot resting on a stool
which is a tell-tale symptom of gout, and which is often associated
with overindulgence in alcohol and rich foods. [full]
|
This is great fun —
like walking about the art museum with those wireless headphones that
convey the history of whatever art you're standing before. The six
paintings and their descriptions in the Marriage à la Mode series are, each
one, delicious and saucy. Matter-of-fact, my
daily art display (A
daily dip into the world of art) is worth perusing. Here
are the links to the remaining segments: You're welcome.
|
|
