Fine Art Poster
From £28
A giclée print on 200gsm matte fine art paper, using a twelve-colour process for accurate, fade-resistant colour. Supplied unframed, delivered flat or rolled.
The Marriage Contract - William Hogarth
Regular price
£28.00 GBP
Sale price
£28.00 GBP
Regular price
Archival giclée
Frames arrive ready to hang
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Made to order
Description
The first scene of William Hogarth's Marriage A-la-Mode series, depicting the cynical negotiation of an arranged marriage between two aristocratic families.
The Marriage Contract is the first scene in William Hogarth's six-part series, Marriage A-la-Mode. This work depicts the negotiation of a marriage settlement between the Earl Squanderfield and a wealthy city merchant. The scene takes place in the Earl's drawing room, where the two fathers arrange the union of their children, who appear indifferent to one another. The young Viscount Squanderfield admires his own reflection in a mirror, while the merchant's daughter, Lady Squander, listens to the lawyer Silvertongue.
Hogarth uses the setting to convey his critique of aristocratic vanity and greed. The room is filled with paintings and architectural plans, suggesting the Earl's attempt to display status despite his financial decline. The gout-ridden Earl points to his family tree, which traces his lineage back to William the Conqueror, while the merchant examines the marriage settlement. The visual details, such as the dogs chained together in the foreground, serve as a commentary on the nature of the arranged marriage itself.
This painting demonstrates Hogarth's ability to combine narrative storytelling with social observation. His approach to composition directs the viewer's eye across the room, linking the various figures through their interactions and postures. The palette is dominated by muted tones, which allows the brighter garments of the central figures to draw attention to their status and character. By focusing on the transactional nature of the event, Hogarth provides a clear view into the social conventions of eighteenth-century London. The work remains a primary example of his narrative style, where every object and gesture contributes to the broader story of the series.
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Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Complete The Look
The Marriage Contract - William Hogarth
Regular price
From £28.00 GBP
Sale price
From £28.00 GBP
Regular price
Fine Art Poster / A4 (21x29.7 cm) / -
Artist Biography
William Hogarth
Hogarth invented the comic strip three hundred years early. A Rake's Progress (1733) and A Harlot's Progress (1732) are narrative sequences of paintings and prints that tell moral stories through sequential images, each one packed with visual detail that rewards close reading. The drunk in the tavern, the debtor in prison, the madman in Bedlam: each scene is a chapter. Together they form a novel in pictures.
He was born in Smithfield, London, near the meat market. His father, a schoolteacher, was imprisoned for debt when William was a child. The experience of debtors' prison appears throughout his work. He apprenticed to a silver engraver and taught himself painting by copying old masters and observing London street life with the attention of a novelist.
He was shrewd about money and copyright. The Engraving Copyright Act of 1735 ('Hogarth's Act') was passed largely through his lobbying. It gave printmakers legal ownership of their designs for the first time, preventing pirated copies. He was protecting his income: the popular prints were his main revenue source.
He painted portraits, historical scenes, and the extraordinary Shrimp Girl, an unfinished head study of a street vendor that anticipates Impressionism by a century. The brushwork is loose, fresh, and immediate. It does not look like anything else painted in the 1740s. He also wrote The Analysis of Beauty (1753), a treatise on aesthetics that argued beauty derived from serpentine lines, which was mocked but was not wrong.
He died in 1764, at sixty-six. He is buried in Chiswick, west London. His tomb has a modest inscription. His influence on British satirical art, from Gillray to Banksy, has no inscription and no end.
He was born in Smithfield, London, near the meat market. His father, a schoolteacher, was imprisoned for debt when William was a child. The experience of debtors' prison appears throughout his work. He apprenticed to a silver engraver and taught himself painting by copying old masters and observing London street life with the attention of a novelist.
He was shrewd about money and copyright. The Engraving Copyright Act of 1735 ('Hogarth's Act') was passed largely through his lobbying. It gave printmakers legal ownership of their designs for the first time, preventing pirated copies. He was protecting his income: the popular prints were his main revenue source.
He painted portraits, historical scenes, and the extraordinary Shrimp Girl, an unfinished head study of a street vendor that anticipates Impressionism by a century. The brushwork is loose, fresh, and immediate. It does not look like anything else painted in the 1740s. He also wrote The Analysis of Beauty (1753), a treatise on aesthetics that argued beauty derived from serpentine lines, which was mocked but was not wrong.
He died in 1764, at sixty-six. He is buried in Chiswick, west London. His tomb has a modest inscription. His influence on British satirical art, from Gillray to Banksy, has no inscription and no end.
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Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
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Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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Fine Art Framed
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The same fine art print in a solid wood frame with UV-protective acrylic glaze and rigid backing. Five frame colours. Arrives ready to hang.
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Artist Biography
William Hogarth
Hogarth invented the comic strip three hundred years early. A Rake's Progress (1733) and A Harlot's Progress (1732) are narrative sequences of paintings and prints that tell moral stories through sequential images, each one packed with visual detail that rewards close reading. The drunk in the tavern, the debtor in prison, the madman in Bedlam: each scene is a chapter. Together they form a novel in pictures.
He was born in Smithfield, London, near the meat market. His father, a schoolteacher, was imprisoned for debt when William was a child. The experience of debtors' prison appears throughout his work. He apprenticed to a silver engraver and taught himself painting by copying old masters and observing London street life with the attention of a novelist.
He was shrewd about money and copyright. The Engraving Copyright Act of 1735 ('Hogarth's Act') was passed largely through his lobbying. It gave printmakers legal ownership of their designs for the first time, preventing pirated copies. He was protecting his income: the popular prints were his main revenue source.
He painted portraits, historical scenes, and the extraordinary Shrimp Girl, an unfinished head study of a street vendor that anticipates Impressionism by a century. The brushwork is loose, fresh, and immediate. It does not look like anything else painted in the 1740s. He also wrote The Analysis of Beauty (1753), a treatise on aesthetics that argued beauty derived from serpentine lines, which was mocked but was not wrong.
He died in 1764, at sixty-six. He is buried in Chiswick, west London. His tomb has a modest inscription. His influence on British satirical art, from Gillray to Banksy, has no inscription and no end.
He was born in Smithfield, London, near the meat market. His father, a schoolteacher, was imprisoned for debt when William was a child. The experience of debtors' prison appears throughout his work. He apprenticed to a silver engraver and taught himself painting by copying old masters and observing London street life with the attention of a novelist.
He was shrewd about money and copyright. The Engraving Copyright Act of 1735 ('Hogarth's Act') was passed largely through his lobbying. It gave printmakers legal ownership of their designs for the first time, preventing pirated copies. He was protecting his income: the popular prints were his main revenue source.
He painted portraits, historical scenes, and the extraordinary Shrimp Girl, an unfinished head study of a street vendor that anticipates Impressionism by a century. The brushwork is loose, fresh, and immediate. It does not look like anything else painted in the 1740s. He also wrote The Analysis of Beauty (1753), a treatise on aesthetics that argued beauty derived from serpentine lines, which was mocked but was not wrong.
He died in 1764, at sixty-six. He is buried in Chiswick, west London. His tomb has a modest inscription. His influence on British satirical art, from Gillray to Banksy, has no inscription and no end.
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