The Great Comet of 1881
The Great Comet of 1881
Artist
Étienne Léopold Trouvelot
(French, 1827 - 1895)
Lithographer
Armstrong & Company
Date1881-1882
MediumChromolithograph
Dimensionssheet: 37 1/2 × 27 1/2 in. (95.3 × 69.9 cm)
plate: 27 7/8 × 21 in. (70.8 × 53.3 cm)
plate: 27 7/8 × 21 in. (70.8 × 53.3 cm)
ClassificationsPrint
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2006.48.11
Accession number
2006.48.11
On View
Not on viewLabel TextIn the spring of 1881, a large comet with intense illumination captured the world’s attention. First spotted in the southern hemisphere in May, the Great Comet of 1881 became visible to the northern hemisphere on June 22. Trouvelot sketched the event from direct observation on the night of June 25 at 1:30 a.m., later using these images to make finished drawings. By placing the Harvard College Observatory in the foreground and depicting the scene from the perspective of an observer on the ground, Trouvelot emphasizes that the event was visible to the naked eye of the everyday viewer.
