The Night, plate 1 from Paul et Virginie
Medium
Etching and engraving printed in yellow, blue, red, and black inks on paper
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.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
28766
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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 dir...