Hogarth, William. 'Marriage a la Mode', Pl V. Cook Edn. Pub Robinson Apr 01 1797. Plate 39 x47cm.
 
'Marriage A-la-Mode' was the first of Hogarth's satirical moralising series of engravings that took the upper echelons of society as its subject. The engravings are a pointed skewering of upper class 18th century society, depicting Earl Squander who is arranging to marry his son to the daughter of a wealthy but mean city merchant. The arrangement ends with the murder of the son and the suicide of the daughter.  This moralistic warning shows the disastrous results of an ill-considered marriage and satirises patronage and aesthetics.
 
William Hogarth (1697–1764).   English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, & social critic, remembered as the father of satirical caricatures and moral paintings, a genre which would later develop into cartoons. His series of moral paintings, such as 'A Harlot's Progress' and 'A Rake's Progress'took a satirical look at the government and social scene of the day, and highlighted the best and worst parts of English culture. Satirical political illustrations in this style are often referred to as "Hogarthian". His engravings which were sold in large numbers to people who would not have been able to previously afford art. He is said to have brought art to the common man for the first time in history.  These Cook edition engravings are in excellent condition and the best of his satirical musings.