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Charles Melchior Descourtis

The Prayer, plate 6 from Paul et Virginie

1795-97
Etching and engraving in yellow, blue, red, and black on paper
37.5 × 41.2 cm (14.8 × 16.2 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

In this print the other characters keep the discovery of Virginie’s body a secret from Paul, because he has been inconsolable in the weeks since the shipwreck. This scene shows Paul, Domingue, and the narrator praying near the church where, unbeknownst to Paul, Virginie has already been buried. In the coming months, most of the characters will succumb to illness, insanity, or death as they are consumed by their grief, leaving only the narrator to recount the story.

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