Paul and Virginia
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
Image: 6 in. × 4 5/8 in. (15.2 × 11.8 cm) Sheet: 13 5/16 × 10 11/16 in. (33.8 × 27.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.21.77
Art Historical Context
This delicate lithograph, created between 1805 and 1827, captures a tender moment from Bernardin de Saint-Pierre’s beloved 1788 novel *Paul et Virginie*. The story of two children raised in idyllic harmony on the island of Mauritius became a cornerstone of French Romantic literature, celebrated for its themes of innocence, nature, and pure affection. Rendered by lithographers Charles Motte and Alexandre Joseph Desenne and published by Giraldon Bovinet et Cie, the print exemplifies how early nineteenth-century artists translated literary sentiment into visual form for a growing reading public. ...
About the Artist
Charles Motte|Alexandre Joseph Desenne|Giraldon Bovinet et Cie (French|French|French) · 1803 |1785 |1785 –1860 |1836 |1836
French, Paris 1803–1860 Fontainebleau|French, 1785–1836|French, 1785–1836