The Parisians don't quite trust the assurances of Monsieur Babinet and insist on lying in wait for the comet, plate 394 from Actualités
May 1, 1857
Medium
Lithograph in black on white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 20.4 × 25.7 cm (8 1/16 × 10 1/8 in.); Sheet: 27.4 × 35.7 cm (10 13/16 × 14 1/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
84641
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Here, a little over a month before the deadly comet is due to land, a couple anxiously watches the skies for its arrival. Jacques Babinet, the “Monsieur Babinet” of the caption, was a member of the French Academy of Sciences and widely known as a charismatic speaker and writer on astronomy. Soon after the prediction was made, he publicly refuted the idea that a comet was going to end the world, in an attempt to quell some of the panic. Babinet was eventually proven right when no comet appeared o...
About the Artist
Honoré-Victorin Daumier · 1808–1879
Honoré-Victorin Daumier (1808-1879) was a prolific French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor whose works offered incisive commentary on the social and political life of 19th-century France. Known as the 'Michelangelo of Caricature,' Daumier produced over 4,000 lithographs, 500 paintings, 1,000 drawings, and 100 sculptures during his lifetime. His biting political satire led to his imp...