R.F. Ravenet Engraving ‘Marriage A-la-Mode’ Plate V After William Hogarth c1745

~ R.F. Ravenet Engraving ‘Marriage A-la-Mode’ Plate V After William Hogarth c1745 ~

‘Marriage A-la-Mode’ was a series of six pictures painted by William Hogarth between 1743 and 1745.

This engraving, named ‘The Bagnio’ the fifth in the series was made after the original by the French artist Simon Francis Ravenet, the elder (1706–1774) and published in April 1745.

The image shows the mortally wounded husband with the wife at his knees and her lover escaping through a window while men look on.

Below the image reads ‘Invented, Painted And Published By W.Hogarth, Engraved By R.F. Ravenet According To Act Of Parliament April 1^st 1745’.

The engraving is mounted and presented in a glazed frame.

~ Dimensions ~

The image measures 45cm (17 ¾ inches) by 37.5cm (14 ¾ inches).

The frame measures 59cm (23 ¼ inches) by 53cm (20 ¾ inches) and weighs 2.7 Kg.

~ Condition ~

There is a tear (5 inches long) through the lady though this is not overly noticeable. There a small tear to the lower margin and a couple of tiny holes near the top of the image.

There is reasonable foxing to the image in parts.

Despite a few problems the image is still in decent condition and presents well.

The frame is in good order with a few small chips but no major problems.

~ Marriage A-la-Mode by W. Hogarth~

‘Marriage A-la-Mode’ is a series of six pictures painted by William Hogarth between 1743 and 1745, intended as a pointed skewering of 18th-century society. They show the disastrous results of an ill-considered marriage for money or social status, and satirises patronage and aesthetics.

The original pictures are now held in the National Gallery in London.

In the fifth painting, The Bagnio (the name on its frame: The killing of the Earl), the new earl has caught his wife in a bagnio with her lover, the lawyer, and is fatally wounded. As she begs forgiveness from the stricken man, the murderer in his nightshirt makes a hasty exit through the window. A picture of a woman with a squirrel on her hand hanging behind the countess contains lewd undertones. Masks on the floor indicate that the couple have been at a masquerade.