Le Voyage dans la Lune – Méliès Hand-Tinted Film Frame, 1902

Subverting the boundary between cinema and illustration, this hand-tinted film frame from Georges Méliès' landmark 1902 fantasy film captures the iconic moment the space capsule — fired from a giant cannon — embeds itself in the eye of the anthropomorphic Moon. Surrounded by swirling teal-green clouds, the grimacing lunar face bleeds crimson from the wound. Directly inspired by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, this image became the most recognizable single frame in early science fiction cinema history.