Harmony Before Matrimony (recto); Clearing the Five Bar Gate (verso) c. 1805

Editor: Here we have James Gillray's etching from around 1805, titled "Harmony Before Matrimony," held at the Art Institute of Chicago. It’s… chaotic, to say the least. The expressions on their faces! The cats! What's your interpretation of this pre-marital scene? Curator: Ah, Gillray! Always a feast for the eyes and the mind, isn’t he? It’s a potent little social satire, you see. The fellow is bellowing from a music book, quite off-key, I imagine, while she’s sort of elegantly, but strained, wrestling with the harp. The domestic disharmony is amplified, even prophesied by the warring cats, don't you think? Harmony indeed – but what kind? Editor: Definitely a battle of wills happening here! So, you see this as more of a critique than just a funny scene? Curator: Oh, unequivocally! Look at the cupid over their heads – seemingly flying away! And the mirror reflecting emptiness! Gillray, with a deft hand, sketches a reality where courtship is but a performance and matrimony perhaps, a discordant duet. Consider how expectations – social, economic, and even performative – box these characters into a charade of love and connection! Do you see the subtle indications of wealth too? Editor: Now that you mention it, yes. From the harp to their attire... there’s definitely a class element at play. It feels very staged. Curator: Precisely! It whispers – or rather, bellows – of the societal pressures inherent in marriage, especially within the burgeoning middle class, with all its accoutrements. It reminds one that domestic bliss may simply be an aesthetic and economic performance. What do you take away from its relevance today? Editor: Well, it kind of makes you think about how much of what we present as a couple is real and how much is performative, you know, for social media or whatever. Food for thought! Curator: Exactly! Gillray has a canny way of revealing what still remains just beneath the veneer of civilized…or should I say, matrimonial… society! A delicious slice of then and now, served with wit and wicked insight, yes?