William Hogarth - Marriage A-la-Mode: 3 The Inspection [c.1743]

William Hogarth - Marriage A-la-Mode: 3 The Inspection [c.1743], originally uploaded by Gandalf's Gallery.

The third scene takes place in the room of a French doctor. The Viscount is seated with his child mistress beside him, apparently having contracted venereal disease, as indicated by the black spot on his neck, Hogarth's symbol for those taking the mercurial pills which were the only known treatment for this ailment. He holds towards the doctor a box of pills; other boxes on the chair and in his mistress's hand suggest he is seeking an alternative remedy. An older woman holds a clasp knife; she appears to be the young girl's mother.

The machines to the right, identified in the inscription on the open book, are for setting a broken shoulder, and drawing corks. A skeleton embraces a model in the cupboard behind the Viscount.

[Oil on canvas, 69.9 x 90.8 cm]

William Hogarth - Marriage A-la-Mode: 4 The Toilette [c.1743]

William Hogarth - Marriage A-la-Mode: 4 The Toilette [c.1743], originally uploaded by Gandalf's Gallery.

After the death of the old Earl the wife is now the Countess, with a coronet above her bed and over the dressing table, where she sits. She has also become a mother, and a child's teething coral hangs from her chair. The lawyer Silvertongue invites her to a masquerade like the one to which he points, depicted on the screen. A group of visitors on the left listen to an opera singer, possibly a castrato, accompanied by a flautist.

An African page on the right unpacks a collection of curiosities bought at auction, including a figure of Actaeon. The paintings on the right wall show 'Lot and his Daughters' and 'Jupiter and Io.' On the left wall is a portrait of the lawyer and 'Rape of Ganymede.'

[Oil on canvas, 70.5 x 90.8 cm]

William Hogarth - Marriage A-la-Mode 2: The Tete a Tete [c.1743]

William Hogarth - Marriage A-la-Mode: 2: The Tete a Tete [c.1743], originally uploaded by Gandalf's Gallery.

In this, the second in the series of paintings, the marriage of the Viscount and the merchant's daughter is quickly proving a disaster. The tired wife, who appears to have given a card party the previous evening, is at breakfast in the couple's expensive house which is now in disorder. The Viscount returns exhausted from a night spent away from home, probably at a brothel: the dog sniffs a lady's cap in his pocket. Their steward, carrying bills and a receipt, leaves the room to the left, his hand raised in despair at the disorder.

The decoration of the room again comments on the action. The picture over the mantlepiece shows Cupid among ruins. In front of it is a bust with a broken nose, symbolising impotence.

[Oil on canvas, 69.9 x 90.8 cm]

William Hogarth - Marriage A-la-Mode 1: The Marriage Settlement [c.1743]

William Hogarth - Marriage A-la-Mode: 1: The Marriage Settlement [c.1743], originally uploaded by Gandalf's Gallery.

This was the first of Hogarth's satirical moralising series of engravings that took the upper echelons of society as its subject. The paintings were models from which the engravings would be made. The engravings reverse the compositions. 

The story starts in the mansion of the Earl Squander who is arranging to marry his son to the daughter of a wealthy but mean city merchant. It ends with the murder of the son and the suicide of the daughter. In the first scene the aged Earl (far right) is shown with his family tree and the crutches he needs because of his gout. The new house which he is having built is visible through the window. The merchant, who is plainly dressed, holds the marriage contract, while his daughter behind him listens to a young lawyer, Silvertongue. The Earl's son, the Viscount, admires his face in a mirror. Two dogs, chained together in the bottom left corner, perhaps symbolise the marriage.

Hogarth's details, especially the paintings on the walls, comment on the action. A grand portrait in the French manner on the rear wall confronts a Medusa head, denoting horror, on the side wall.

[Oil on canvas, 69.9 x 90.8 cm]

Isaak Brodsky - Lenin in Smoiny, 1917 [1930]

Isaak Brodsky - Lenin in Smoiny, 1917 [1930], originally uploaded by Gandalf's Gallery.

Isaak Izrailevich Brodsky (Sofiyevka, Ukraine, January 6, 1884 – Leningrad, August 14, 1939) was a Soviet painter whose work provided a blueprint for the art movement of socialist realism. He is known for his iconic portrayals of Lenin and idealised, carefully crafted paintings dedicated to the events of the Russian Civil War and the Bolshevik Revolution.

Jean-Léon Gérôme - Lighting the Pipe [c.1895]

Jean-Léon Gérôme - Lighting the Pipe [c.1895], originally uploaded by Gandalf's Gallery.

Please click artist label for further information.

Jacques Emile Blanche - Fillette (Lucie Esnault au Pysche)

Jacques Emile Blanche - Fillette (Lucie Esnault au Pysche), originally uploaded by Gandalf's Gallery.

Jacques-Émile Blanche (February 1, 1861 – September 30, 1942) was a French painter born in Paris. He acquired a great reputation as a portrait painter; his art is derived from French and English sources, refined, sometimes super-elegant, but full of character.