Parisiens incrédules ... c. 19th century

"Parisiens incrédules..." is a lithograph by Honoré Daumier, created in the 19th century. The artwork depicts a Parisian couple on a balcony, observing the night sky with a telescope. The man, seemingly an astronomer, gazes upwards while his partner, a woman with an exasperated expression, leans on the railing. The scene satirizes the public skepticism surrounding the astronomer François Arago’s predictions about the appearance of a comet. Daumier’s use of dramatic lighting and caricatured figures captures the comedic aspects of human disbelief and anxieties about celestial events.