A young man with an exhausted expression after sex pulls on his breeches beside a woman who gazes up at him and holds his arm; on the wall is an image of Cupid pointing to a downward-pointing rocket. Engraving by William Hogarth, 1736.

  • Hogarth, William, 1697-1764.
Date:
Decm:br: ye: 15th 1736
Reference:
38349i
Part of:
Before and after
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view A young man with an exhausted expression after sex pulls on his breeches beside a woman who gazes up at him and holds his arm; on the wall is an image of Cupid pointing to a downward-pointing rocket. Engraving by William Hogarth, 1736.

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Credit

A young man with an exhausted expression after sex pulls on his breeches beside a woman who gazes up at him and holds his arm; on the wall is an image of Cupid pointing to a downward-pointing rocket. Engraving by William Hogarth, 1736. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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About this work

Also known as

After

Description

Left, two paintings of Cupid are inscribed "before" (pointing to a rising rocket) and "after" (pointing to a falling rocket). A book on the floor is inscribed "Aristotle" and "Omne animal post coitum triste". A dog sleeps on the floor, illustrating the quotation from Aristotle

Publication/Creation

[London] : Wm Hogarth, Decm:br: ye: 15th 1736.

Physical description

1 print : engraving, with etching ; image 36.9 x 31 cm.

Lettering

Invented engraved & published Decm:br: ye: 15th 1736 by Wm: Hogarth pursuant to an at of parliament.

Edition

[Paulson's state III].

Notes

Forms a pair with Wellcome Library no. 38348i

References note

R. Paulson, Hogarth's graphic works, London 1989, 3rd edition, no. 142
Kirsten Tambling, 'John Thomson, Archibald Grant and William Hogarth's "Before" and "After"', The Burlington magazine, 2019, 161: 300-307

Reference

Wellcome Collection 38349i

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