The Departure, plate 4 from Paul et Virginie
- Medium
- Etching and engraving printed in yellow, blue, red, and black inks on ivory laid paper
- Dimensions
- Image: 37.5 × 41.2 cm (14 13/16 × 16 1/4 in.); Sheet, cut within platemark: 41.6 × 47.4 cm (16 7/16 × 18 11/16 in.)
- Genre
- etching
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
mediamixed mediared inkinkartists' materialsprintprints and drawingcolored inkblack inketchingcoating (material)paper (fiber product)blue ink
About
This image illustrates Virginie, on the far right, bidding farewell to her family before boarding a ship bound for Paris. The drama of the scene is heightened by moody contrasts between moonlight and shadow, as well as the island’s exaggeratedly “exotic” geography, which includes the rocky cliff where the family has gathered. Virginie’s pained mother reaches out to her, while Paul clasps Virginie’s waist in protest and gestures towards the waiting vessel, pleading for permission to join her. The work also depicts the story’s narrator for the first time, shown here on the left next to Paul’s mother.
