The Pilot of Tonga
1856
Medium
Etching, from two plates, one in black and one in red (brownish), on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 20.2 × 14.4 cm (8 × 5 11/16 in.); Plate: 20.2 × 14.4 cm (8 × 5 11/16 in.); Sheet: 35 × 25.9 cm (13 13/16 × 10 1/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
47284
About the Artist
Charles Meryon · 1821–1868
Charles Meryon, born on November 23, 1821, in Paris, was the illegitimate son of English physician Dr. Charles Lewis Meryon and dancer Pierre-Narcisse Chaspoux (stage name Narcisse Gentil) at the Paris Opéra. His half-sister Fanny, from his mother's prior relationship with Viscount Lowther, remained in contact after their mother's death in 1838. Raised partly outside Paris before attending Pension...