Édouard Riou's Sea Creatures Attack Ship — Jules Verne 1870s

Bioluminescent deep-sea creatures — glowing, alien-like organisms swarming from the ocean depths — assault a sailing vessel in this nighttime maritime horror. Two terrified sailors cling to the ship's rigging as luminous jellyfish or siphonophores engulf the hull in cascading light. The illustration captures proto-scientific wonder about unknown oceanic life, a central theme in Jules Verne's exploration of undersea mysteries, rendered in masterful wood engraving with dramatic chiaroscuro.