The Chromolithographs of E.L. Trouvelot

Etienne Leopold Trouvelot (1827-1895), a French-born artist and amateur astronomer, spent 15 years observing the heavens and making original drawings from his observations. He worked with the 15-inch refractor telescope at the Harvard Observatory (placed at his disposal by Admiral C.H. Davis), and the 26-inch refracting telescope at the University of Virginia, among others.

"With a view to making these observations more generally useful," Trouvelot stated, "I was led... to prepare, from this collection of drawings, a series of astronomical pictures which were intended to represent the celestial phenomena as they appear to the trained eye and to an experienced draftsman through the great modern telescopes provided with the most delicate instrumental appliances... While my aim in this work has been to combine scrupulous fidelity and accuracy in the details, I have also endeavored to preserve the natural elegance and the delicate outlines peculiar to the objects depicted."

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