
The Night, plate 1 from Paul et Virginie
<p>Night falls as Paul and Virginie are returning from the plantation, and they stop, fatigued and hungry, with little hope of finding their way home. Suddenly, they hear the familiar barking of their dog Fidèle, and they see Domingue, one of the two enslaved people owned by their family, running anxiously toward them out of the woods. Domingue was sent to find the children by their concerned mothers, but on his way through the jungle he passed the plantation and learned of the fugitive woman’s dire fate.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1795
- Dimensions
- Image: 37.5 × 41.2 cm (14 13/16 × 16 1/4 in.); Sheet, cut within platemark: 42 × 47 cm (16 9/16 × 18 9/16 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
Artist

Printmaking
Charles-Melchior Descourtis (French, 1753-1820)
Full artist profile →More
More by Charles Melchior Descourtis
The Prayer, plate 6 from Paul et Virginie
1795 · Etching and engraving in yellow, blue, red, and black on ivory laid paper
The Arrival of Monsieur de la Bourdonnais, plate 3 from Paul et Virginie
1795 · Etching and engraving printed in yellow, blue, red, and black inks on ivory laid paper
The Departure, plate 4 from Paul et Virginie
1795 · Etching and engraving printed in yellow, blue, red, and black inks on ivory laid paper
The Fugitive Slave, plate 2 from Paul et Virginie
1795 · Etching and engraving printed in yellow, blue, red, and black inks on paper
Finding Virginie's Body, plate 5 from Paul et Virginie
1795 · Etching and engraving, from four plates, in yellow, blue, red and black, on ivory laid paper
F: S: Wilhelmine de Prusse Princesse d'Orange et de Nassau &&
1791 · silk
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Year
- 1795
- Dimensions
- Image: 37.5 × 41.2 cm (14 13/16 × 16 1/4 in.); Sheet, cut within platemark: 42 × 47 cm (16 9/16 × 18 9/16 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1795-124323
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





