The countess, having taken a dose of laudanum nears death, and is kissed by her sickly child held towards her by an elderly maid; her father slips her ring from her finger. Engraving by Louis Gérard Scotin after William Hogarth, 1745.

  • Hogarth, William, 1697-1764.
Date:
[1745]
Reference:
38358i
Part of:
Marriage a-la-mode
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Description

The view through the window is of Old London Bridge and the Thames river. An apothecary summoned to the scene exits holding a traditional gold-headed walking cane. A scrawny dog tugs at the ear of a pig's head on a dish, indicating the frugality of the merchant. Another apothecary rages at a servant, who, judging from his countenance and physiognomy, is feeble-minded. Protruding from the former's pocket is a ring-pull from a syringe and a bottle labelled "julep", a sedative. The pictures constrast with the Italian Old Masters belonging to the Squanderfields and comprise Dutch genre scenes and a still-life. Also of interest is an "almanack" stuck to the wall

Publication/Creation

[London] : Wm Hogarth, [1745]

Physical description

1 print : engraving, with etching ; 35.5 x 44.3 cm.

Lettering

Marriage-a-la-mode, (plate vi). invented painted & published by Wm Hogarth. engraved by G. Scotin. according to act of parliament April 1st 1745 A bottle on the floor is labelled "laudanum", next to it is a broadside inscribed "counsellor Silvertongues last dying speech"

References note

R. Paulson, Hogarth's graphic works, London 1989, 3rd edition, no. 163
British Museum Catalogue of political and personal satires, London 1877, vol. 3, no. 2758

Reference

Wellcome Collection 38358i

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