Richard Earlom after William Hogarth

Marriage à la Mode

Plate I - The Marriage Contract
Plate II - The Breakfast Scene
Plate III - The Scene with the Quack
Plate IV - The Countess’s Levee
Plate V - The Death of the Earl
Plate VI - The Death of the Countess

30.5 x 25.5 inches

A scarce set of six, large-scale, mezzotint engravings of Hogarth's famous satirical series, published in London by J. and J. Boydell in 1800.

It is rare to find Hogarth's work reproduced in mezzotint and particularly on this scale; almost all of the prints done from his paintings are etched onto copper plates and are consequently linear in tone. Mezzotint lends these familiar images a depth and richness not seen in other impressions. Richard Earlom (1743-1822) was a highly skilled exponent of mezzotint and the perfect choice when the publishing firm of Boydell were looking for someone to commission for this prodigious task.

Hogarth is, perhaps, the best-known and most important engraver of the eighteenth century. He began his career as an engraver on silver and did not produce his first engraving, a small trade card, until 1720. From the moment that he completed the set of six paintings entitled Harlot’s Progress and the subsequent set of prints, Hogarth realised that he could convey his message to a much larger audience and profit from the sale of prints at the same time.