Artwork

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

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 is a work on paper by the Romanticist artist Filippo Morghen. It dates from 1769 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

A portfolio of ten etchings by Filippo Morghen illustrates a fictional lunar journey attributed to John Wilkins, a 17th-century English bishop.

A portfolio of ten etchings by Filippo Morghen illustrates a fictional lunar journey attributed to John Wilkins, a 17th-century English bishop. Though Wilkins never traveled to the Moon, the series imagines his observations of lunar society. Published in the 18th century, the prints reflect contemporary fascination with speculative travel narratives, blending scientific curiosity with whimsical invention. Each plate presents a self-contained scene, collectively constructing an elaborate, absurd lunar world.

Subject & Meaning

The etchings depict imagined lunar inhabitants engaging in surreal daily activities: harvesting fish in hollowed pumpkins, hunting oversized rodents with colossal scissors, and flying on giant birds. These scenes parody European notions of exoticism, borrowing visual tropes from chinoiserie and turquerie to construct an alien culture that mirrors European stereotypes of Asia and the Ottoman Empire. The work critiques, perhaps satirically, the tendency to project familiar biases onto the unknown.

Technique & Style

Morghen employed fine-line etching to render intricate, densely packed compositions with precise detail. The tonal range is subtle, emphasizing texture over dramatic contrast. Figures and machines are rendered with a dry, almost clinical precision, heightening the absurdity of their context. The compositions are crowded and theatrical, inviting close inspection while maintaining a uniform, decorative rhythm across the series.

History & Provenance

The portfolio was dedicated to Sir William Hamilton, British ambassador to Naples and a noted collector of antiquities and curiosities. Its publication coincided with a surge in popular interest in lunar travel literature, including works by Cyrano de Bergerac and Johannes Kepler. Morghen’s prints were likely produced for a cultivated, literate audience familiar with these texts, serving as visual companions to speculative fiction rather than scientific illustrations.

Context

In the 18th century, lunar voyages were a popular literary and artistic theme, emerging from the intersection of emerging astronomy and Enlightenment-era fantasy. Morghen’s work aligns with a broader trend of visualizing the unknown through familiar cultural lenses. The use of exaggerated, hybrid technologies and costume reflects a period that conflated scientific speculation with decorative exoticism, blurring boundaries between fact, fiction, and satire.

Legacy

Morghen’s suite remains a rare example of early speculative cartography applied to celestial realms. While not scientifically influential, it captures the imaginative spirit of its age—where wonder was cultivated through visual invention rather than empirical proof. The series is now studied as a cultural artifact, revealing how pre-modern societies visualized the cosmos through the prism of their own social and aesthetic assumptions.