William Hogarth was born in 1697 and died in 1764: we are in the “Age of Reason”, the so called “Enlightenment”. They represent a satire of aristocratic marriages. In England there was a satirical tradition.
1° PICTURE, “The marriage contract”:
(Why is it a satire?) The 1st picture was a satire because it represents an allegory of combined marriages. This kind of marriage is a chain and they are made to improve economy or politic interests of the family or to acquire noble title. The groom, on the left, is satirical, because he doesn’t represent the ideal husband, but he is bored and he is too superficial, frivolous. He hasn’t got maturity(personality) and he hasn’t got depth. On his hair, he has a ribbon. He is ill of syphilis. We can understand it by a spot on his neck. He has a box of tobacco inside on his hand. He is very elegant and he is wearing a long redingote. Below, he had a brocade dress, he had no trousers, but long stockings made of white silk(stocking). The groom is bored and he would prefer to be elsewhere. The bride is sitting on the sofa and she is sad. She is speaking with another man, her lover, the lawyer Silvertongue. She has got a handkerchief on his hand, because she is crying. He is comforting her, saying “Don’t worry”. The bride is not an aristocratic and she has covered her hair with a cap. We can understand that there isn’t a lot of affection between them because they are turning each other back. Then, the groom’s father is showing his family(genealogical) tree and the crutches he needs because of his gout. The new house which he is having built is visible through the window. On the table, there are gold coins. The bride’s father imitates the aristocracy. He has long hair(probably a wig) and he is wearing a long red coat. Two dogs have got a chain and a collar: they are chained to each other and it symbolize the marriage and its condition.
2° PICTURE, “Shortly after the marriage”:
The wife stretches herself, having held a late card party the evening before and the cards are still scattered on the floor. The young Viscount is exhausted after a night’s dissipation in town. In fact, the dog is pulling a woman’s cap, obviously not his wife’s, from his pocket. The steward, on the left of the picture, is leaving with the unpaid bills.
3° PICTURE, “The countess’s morning levée”:
“Levèe” means “waking(or getting) up”. On the left of the picture, a “castrato” sings accompanied by a flute player. The room suggests the immoral atmosphere of this society: on the walls hang pictures of pagan loves. The morning levée was not a private occasion. There are some servants and some people, who are drinking coffee. Coffee, like(together) with tobacco, was considered good for health. Some people were singing, another one plays the flute. There is a black child: he is a page and there is another black servant. The woman has changed: now she is happy and she is wearing in a more sophisticated way. She is having her hair done. Also the man, on the left of the picture, who is wearing red trousers, is having his hair done. He is having locks done. The black page on the right points grinning at the horns on the statue of Actaeon, suggesting that the husband is a cuckold and his wife loves another man.
Fonte: Pavi92
https://myenglish.blogfree.net/
This famous nineteenth century painting by W. F. Yeames, shows a Royalist family who have been captured by the enemy. The boy is being questioned about the whereabouts of his father by a panel of Parliamentarians.
Although the picture was not painted until the nineteenth century it is a fairly valuable Secondary source about the Civil War.
1) Two Women in the Background
We can tell by their clothes that they are Royalists. The lady at the back is hiding behind the other and seems to be more afraid. The lady in the front does not seem so afraid and is looking directly at the interrogators. The lady hiding could be an older sister and the tall lady in the front their mother.
Another possible interpretation is that the lady dressed in green is the children's mother while the one dressed in black is a maidservant. The maidservant could have informed the Parliamentarians that the family is hiding something.
2) Little Girl
The girl is dressed in Royalist clothing so we can assume that she is the boy's sister. She is crying, probably because she is afraid of what the soldiers might do to her family.
3) The Sergeant
We know that this man is a sergeant because he is carrying a halberd and they were always carried by sergeants from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. He is the man who has arrested the family and has brought them before the Parliamentarians for questioning.
However, he does not seem too happy with his task. The arm around the girl seems to be comforting rather than arresting and he is not looking directly at the scene in front of him. We can guess that maybe he has a family of his own and feels that questioning of children in this way is wrong.
4) Man on the Bench
This man is a cavalry officer. We know this because of the long riding boots that he is wearing. He is watching the interrogation of the boy with interest.
Yellow Sash: The man is wearing the yellow sash of Parliament over his uniform. All Parliamentarian soldiers wore yellow sashes during battle so that they could easily spot members of their own army. During battle things often got very confused and it was not always obvious who was on which side.
5) Boy in Blue
We can tell from the boy's clothes that he is a Royalist. The title of the painting is 'And when did you last see your father?' - so we can guess that he is being questioned as to the whereabouts of his father. Possibly his father is commander of a Royalist army and the Parliamentarians are hoping to gain knowledge of their whereabouts.
6) Man Writing
This man is a clerk. He is writing down everything that is said. His presence also makes the scene more official as the interrogation is clearly being carried out as if it were a court case.
7) Man in the Corner
This man is almost hidden by the shadows in the room. However, he is looking directly at the boy and seems assured that the family is guilty. He holds in his arms a number of books, probably literature that had been forbidden by the Puritans. He seems to be happy that it is he that holds the evidence of the Royalist nature of the family and he is enjoying seeing the distress of the family.
8) The Interrogator
This is the man who is questioning the boy. However, he does not seem as intimidating as the other Parliamentarians in the room. He is leaning forward with his chin resting on his hands and from his expression seems almost sympathetic towards the boy. Possibly he is tired of having to carry out such tasks and believes that the war against the King should be won on the battlefield and not through the interrogation of women and children.
9) Man in Black
Dressed in black with white collar and sitting bolt upright on the bench, this man is a typical Puritan figure. He stares at the boy with a stern expression on his face. He seems glad that another Royalist family has been discovered and probably believes that they deserve harsh punishment.
10) Man at the Edge of the Picture
This man, like the one in the centre of the picture, is sprawled on the bench. He is wearing a heavy looking brown coat of the type worn by cavalrymen.
He appears to be present as an onlooker rather than a member of the interrogation team. Possibly he is hoping for some information that will help his own cavalry to be victorious over the Royalists.
11) Leather Hat
This leather cowboy-type of hat was worn by cavalry men during the Civil War. It looks as though it would not give much protection to the wearer, but many men wore a metal skull cap under their hats so that their heads were protected.
12) The Halberd
This is an important piece of evidence in this picture because it tells us the identity of the man holding it. From the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, a sergeant always carried a halberd, therefore we know that the man in the picture is the sergeant who has arrested the family.
Edited by Pavi92 - 1/10/2010, 16:25
