Cleveland Museum of Art

Suite of the most notable things seen by John Wilkins erudite English Bishop during his famous voyage from the Earth to the Moon … dedicated to Sir William Hamilton ambassador to the Court of Naples

Filippo Morghen

Date: about 1769
Medium: Suite of 10 etchings
Culture: Italy
Department: Prints
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

Filippo Morghen’s set of 10 etchings is outstanding among visual narratives of imaginary voyages to the moon, both visual and literary, that intrigued 18th-century European audiences. A title page and nine plates depict the imagined lives and economy of moon dwellers. These include modes of transport such as large birds and sailboats propelled by giant bellows, enormous scissors for capturing wild beasts (including an oversized rat), and the use of giant pumpkins as fishing boats and as dwellings. Representations of the moon dwellers are based on inaccurate and imaginary European interpretations of Asian, Ottoman, and Native American cultures—called chinoiserie and turquerie —that permeated the decorative and visual arts of the period. Morghen based this print series on three books dedicated to moon exploration, including Bishop Francis Godwin’s The Man in the Moone (1640).

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