Engraving, Massacre de MM. de Langle, Lamanon et de dix autres individus des deux equipages, Pl. 66 of Atlas du voyage de Lapérouse

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TitleEngraving, Massacre de MM. de Langle, Lamanon et de dix autres individus des deux equipages, Pl. 66 of Atlas du voyage de LapérouseDate1988About this objectThis item belongs to a group of 70 copperplate engravings printed and hand coloured in 1988 – to mark the bicentenary of La Pérouse’s visit of Botany Bay – using the original 1797 plates. The set of prints were gifted to the La Perouse Museum in 2003 by Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France on behalf of the Terra Australis Committee, France.

This engraving depicts the tragic event of 1787, in which La Pérouse’s second-in-command, Paul Antoine Fleuriot de Langle, the botanist and physicist Robert de Lamanon, and ten other crew members were killed on the island of Maouna, now Tutuila in Samoa. Set against an ostensibly idyllic harbour framed by tropical vegetation, the image reenacts the violent encounter between La Pérouse’s crew and the local community. Entangled cadavers, bodies struggling offshore and overboard, and clouds of smoke amid flying stones heighten the sense of tension, evoking an infernal vision of extreme violence.

The original copperplates of the 1797 atlas accompanying the journal of La Pérouse’s expedition during 1785 and 1788 are now held in the collection of the Musée de la Marine, Paris. They were etched in 1796-1797 based on sketches sent back to France during the expedition.Object No.2003.1-66Inscriptions & marksMassacre de MM. de Langle, Lamanon et de dix autres individus des deux equipages / Dessine par N. Ozanne / Grave par Dequevauviller / V.41Place madeFranceSourceLa Perouse MuseumProvenance 1797 – first edition of the Atlas du voyage de Lapérouse published by the Imprimerie de la Republique;
1988 – printed and hand coloured by the Musée de la Marine, Paris from the 1797 copperplates;
24 March 2003 – gifted to the La Perouse Museum on behalf of Terra Australis Committee with the support of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company.Credit lineGift of Mr Michel Rocard on behalf of Terra Australis Committee France with the support of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, 2003Acquisition date24 March 2003Organisations (Detailed entries)La Perouse Museum (La Perouse, N.S.W.)ThemesEuropean arrivals

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Engraving, Massacre de MM. de Langle, Lamanon et de dix autres individus des deux equipages, Pl. 66 of Atlas du voyage de Lapérouse