Harmony before matrimony

Gillray, James (1757-1815)


Item type:
print
Date of creation:
1805
Height:
26.5 cm  (10 7/16 in.)
Width:
36.5 cm  (14 3/8 in.)
Technique / Medium:
etching on paper
Place of creation:
London (England)

    Item location

  • British Museum
    [Museum inv. no.: 1868,0808.7384]There are several examples of this etching on the British Museum website. The one linked here was hand colored.

Description

A man and woman are seen sitting in front of a small table. The woman is playing a harp, and both appear to be singing. The man is holding a music book with the title "DUETS de l'amour." A book rests on the table, open to a page that displays "OVID" in large letters. A small pile of printed music is shown on the floor to the left of the man, with two cats fighting on top of it.

Iconclass

48C755
vocal music, singing
48C7322
harp

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Harp [3285]

Image URLs

image link 1

Bibliographic references

Leppert, Richard D. "Men, women, and music at home: the influence of cultural values on musical life in eighteenth-century England". Imago musicae 2 (1985) 51-133, fig. 35. RILM 1985-6899.

RIdIM record id

7431