098. The Tete a Tete, from Marriage a la mode. William Hogarth. c. 1743 CE Oil on canvas.

• Form
  • Richly decorated rooms painted in brilliant color
  • Myriad of details; each detail adds to the symbolism in the work
  • Elements of French Rococo style used to indict those who are flattered in French Art
• Function
  • Highly satiric paintings about a decadent English aristocracy and those who would have liked to buy their way into it.
  • A series of six narrative paintings; later turned into a series of prints
• Context
  • Second of six scenes in a suit of paintings called Marriage a la Mode

The Tete-a-Tete
• Shortly after the marriage, each partner has been pursuing pleasures without the other
• The husband has been out all night with another woman(the dog sniffs suspiciously at another bonnet); the broken sword means he has been in a fight and probably lost(and may also be a symbol for sexual inadequacy)
• The wife has been playing cards all night, the steward indicating by his expression that she has lost a fortune at the card game called whist; he holds nine unpaid bills in his hand(one was paid by mistake, further illustrating their carelessness)
• The painting over the mantelpiece is a symbolic depiction of Cupid among the ruins
• A turned-over chair indicates that the violin player made a hasty retreat when the husband came home