Marriage a la Mode, Plate IV (The Toilette or The Levee)

Date1745-1790

After work by William Hogarth (1697 - 1764)

Publisher William Hogarth (1697 - 1764)

Engraver Simon Francois Ravenet

OriginEngland, London

MediumBlack and white line engraving and etching

DimensionsOverall: 22 3/4 × 17 3/4in. (57.8 × 45.1cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1967-567,4

DescriptionThe lower margin reads: "Marriage A-la-Mode, Plate IV/ Invented Painted & Published by W.m Hogarth/ Engraved by S. Ravenet/ According to Act of Parliament April 1.st 1745"

Third state.
Label TextIn the fourth plate in William Hogarth's series Marriage à la Mode, in her husband’s absence, his wife is shown here entertaining guests in her fashionably appointed bedchamber at her toilette – an imported French custom. The elaborate cornice surmounting her bed incorporates the coronet of an Earl, suggesting the passing of her father-in-law. Making her a Countess and her husband an Earl. A coral and silver baby's rattle dangles on her chair indicate a child is now part of the family. A French valet dresses her hair while Silvertongue, her lover, invites her to a masquerade ball – similar to the one he gestures to on the folding screen. The morning’s entertainment is an Italian castrato accompanied by the music of a German flutist. As a black servant offers her a cup of chocolate, a delighted lady gestures her approval toward the entertainment while her husband nods off in the background. A dandy delicately sips hot chocolate. The newly minted Countess’ elevated status has not curbed her sense of frivolity or lavish spending as alluded to by the exotic objects recently purchased at an auction which a young black servant dressed in Moorish dress unloads from a basket.

For other prints in the set, see: 1967-567,1-1967-567,6