The Unequal Marriage (1862), is a painting depicting the wedding ceremony of an elderly, high-ranking official and a young, visibly unhappy girl. This was one of the celebrated denunciatory pictures of the 1860s, revealing the unequal position of women and the corruption of bureaucracy. This critical mode, reflecting the general striving for reform in Russia after the Emancipation reform of 1861, was intended to arouse the dormant social conscience and change society. The Unequal Marriage is currently on display at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia.
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Famous quotes containing the words unequal and/or marriage:
“Say what you will, making marriage work is a woman’s business. The institution was invented to do her homage; it was contrived for her protection. Unless she accepts it as such—as a beautiful, bountiful, but quite unequal association—the going will be hard indeed.”
—Phyllis McGinley (1905–1978)
“The reason why women effect so little and are so shallow is because their aims are low, marriage is the prize for which they strive; if foiled in that they rarely rise above disappointment ... [ellipsis in source]”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)