Marriage à-la-mode, pl. 6

Hogarth, William, 1697-1764 · (c) April 1, 1745

The countess is dying in a chair, an execution broadside at her feet indicates that Silvertongue has been hanged for killing her husband. Her young child (wearing a leg brace as a result of congenital syphilis) is held up for a last kiss by an old woman, while her father removes her wedding ring. The sparsely decorated room contrasts in every detail with the grand interior of Plate II of the series.