Harmony before matrimony

Gillray, James, 1756-1815 · October 25, 1805

A pretty young woman and a fashionably dressed man sing together seated on upright chairs. She (r.) plays the harp, her head thrown back to look over her shoulder at the music-book which he holds open. On a round table which supports his elbow as he leans towards her is an open book, 'Ovid' [Art of Love]. She wears clinging draperies. Two cats gambol amorously on music-books on the ground. The elaborate décor of the room stresses the subject of the design. A large wall mirror (l.) hangs above a marble console which is supported on winged heads; a butterfly flies towards its own reflection. Chinese vases containing roses (twin flowers) flank a bowl in which gold-fish swim to meet each other. One vase only is fully visible; it is a scene of courtship. Below the console a heart-shaped vase, decorated with a Sphinx, stands on the floor. An oval picture elaborately framed hangs above the heads of the lovers. A Cupid fires a blunderbuss at two doves billing on a dove-cot. This is flanked by carvings of flowers with (l.) crossed torches (of Hymen) and (r.) the bow and arrows of Cupid. In the foreground (r.) is one corner of a console table supported by a grinning satyr with a cloven hoof; on it is a myrtle plant in an ornamental pot. The luxury of the room is shown by an arcaded wall with pilaster reflected in the mirror, and by a palm-tree pilaster (BM).