Landscape, from a series of six landscapes titled "Observationib.Astronom.Regiae.Paris.Scient. Acad...1736" 1736

This print of a landscape was made by Quentin Pierre Chedel in 1736. It belongs to a series of six landscapes titled "Observationib.Astronom.Regiae.Paris.Scient. Acad." It depicts a nautical disaster, a shipwreck tossed about by violent waves and threatened by lightning. Made in France during the Enlightenment, this print reflects a growing interest in scientific observation, which can be understood by its title. The title suggests that these landscapes are not just picturesque scenes but records of actual observations, perhaps related to weather or natural phenomena. The very precise line engraving shows the artist's scientific and illustrative intentions. How might the depiction of nature's destructive power challenge the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and order? What were the institutional settings in which landscape prints like these circulated, and how did they shape the public's understanding of both art and science? Answering these questions involves looking at period scientific publications and the archives of institutions like the Académie Royale des Sciences, or Royal Academy of Sciences. The meaning of this artwork is, like all art, contingent on its historical context.