Édouard Riou's Deep Space Explosion — Jules Verne 'Autour de la Lune' 1870
Created in the early 1870s during the golden age of Jules Verne's scientific romances, this engraving appears in the Italian edition of 'Autour de la Lune' (Around the Moon), Verne's 1870 sequel to 'De la Terre à la Lune.' The image depicts a spectacular cosmic explosion in deep space — radiating white-hot light rays and fragmented debris against a star-filled void — illustrating the novel's descriptions of celestial phenomena witnessed by the lunar projectile's passengers. The fine cross-hatching technique is characteristic of Riou's engraving style for Hetzel editions.
Elegant Victorian restraint — the explosion is rendered with meticulous crosshatched drama rather than lurid excess. The radiating light rays achieve genuine cosmic grandeur, but the monochrome engraving keeps the spectacle dignified rather than garish.
“140 INTORNO ALLA LUNA. immensi spazii, non più aride pianure, ma veri mari, oceani largamente distribuiti, che riflettevano sul loro specchio liquido tutta la magia abbagliante dei fuochi dello spazio.”
