Victorian Moon Paintings reflect a shared human fascination. Every living person across every town, every city, every country, every continent looks up at the same moon. And every person who lived before us stood on this planet gazing upward at the same moon we see today.
All humans see the moon in the same phase at the same time. Yes, the moon’s orientation in relation to the horizon is different between Northern and Southern Hemispheres. These differences aside, the moon remains a constant, even in the most uncertain times in human history.
Victorian moon paintingsĀ in this post reflect our shared vision of the moon.
Moon Exploration Trended In Victorian Media
Humans understood lunar phases at least since 600 B.C. The Royal Society writes that ourĀ āEnduring fascination with the Moon pre-dates a Newtonian telescopeās (1668) ability to bring the lunar surface within the grasp of the astronomical artist.ā (Royal Society)
Galileo (1564-1642) believed that Earth caused the glow we see in the un-illuminated area aroundĀ a crescent moon. Christopher Graney of
There were other explanations, according to.Ā Some astronomers argued that the glow, which in Galileoās day was called the āsecondary light of the moonā, came from within the moon itself.Ā According to Christopher Graney of Vatican Observatory:
“Some astronomers argued that the glow, which in Galileoās day was called the āsecondary light of the moonā, came from within the moon itself.Ā This was part of a larger argument about the nature of the moon: was it a body like Earth, or something more ‘celestial’ and ‘ethereal’? ” (Vatican Observatory)
Scientific understanding of the moon expanded dramatically through the 1800s, transforming human knowledge of our celestial neighbor. When these Victorian Moon Paintings were created, many people believed that this new science made the moon within human reach.
Artists were among them.
A Few
Stepping Stones To The Moon
1820-John W. Draper was a founding member of the Astronomical Society of London. The Royal Society holds volumes of Draperās letters with Warren de la Rue FRS.
1840-John W. Draper took the first daguerreotype of the moon from the rooftop observatory at New York University.
1849-John Adams Whipple captured a full Moon daguerreotypeĀ through the telescope at the Harvard College Observatory in Cambridge MA.
1853-John Phillips FRS took a partial view of using Frederick Scott Archerās 1851 invention of wet collodion on glass.
1858-āWithin his voluminous correspondence held at the Royal Society, there is an exchange of The letters from 1858 illuminate āan age of Victorian lunar exploration.ā
Warren de la Rue shared Herschelās ātwin passions of astronomy and photography and their letters contain details of a breakthrough in virtual space travel…ā (Royal Society)
Jules Verne Sent Man To The Moon
In 1865 Jules Verne told the story of The Baltimore Gun Clubās attempts to launch three men to the moon with a powerful canon in From Earth to The Moon. He worked some rough calculations and some of his data came surprisingly close to reality.
During their return journey from the moon in 1969, Neil Armstrong, mission commander of the Apollo 11, made reference to Jules Verneās book. āA hundred years ago, Jules Verne wrote a book about a voyage to the Moon. His spaceshipā¦took off from Florida and landed in the Pacific Ocean after completing a trip to the Moon.ā (Racing Nellie Bly)
This is not exactly a Victorian Moon Painting, but it is an incredible illustration. It a frame from the restored hand-colored print of a frame from Georges MĆ©liĆØs’s 1902 filmĀ Le voyage dans la lune. (A Trip To The Moon).
The Great Moon Hoax Went Viral
While Victorian Moon Paintings invited people to consider the night skies, some people took advantage of ongoing scientific developments for profit and attention. The Great Victorian Moon hoax was just one unverified story that skid out of control in human history.
Life was discovered on the moon in 1835, according to TheĀ SunĀ (1833ā1950). On August 21, they advertised a six-part series on great celestial discoveries made by Sir John Herschel.
The articles ran from August 25 to August 31. The series increased readership, although the exact numbers offer multiple alternative facts. Some readers were true believers, ready to send missionaries to the moon. Others were skeptics. Most were deeply amused. (Racing Nellie Bly)
The year 1900 saw a flurry of popular speculation about what the world would be like at the end of the new centuryāand the end of the second millennium. Travel to the Moon was routinely cited as a technological feat that would have been accomplished by then. (LitHub)
On days when the weight of the world seems too uncertain to bear, look forward to the certainty of the rising moon.
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