CHARLES-MELCHIOR DESCOURTIS, French, 1753-1820;
after JEAN FREDERIC SCHALL, French, 1752-1825
Paul and Virginie, 3
color aquatint, 1795
The William A. Whitaker Foundation Art Fund, 2001.9.6

The two families, living in poverty, receive a visit from the governor of the island; despite his rank he treats them as equals, and Paul tells him: "I want to be your friend, for you are an honorable man." Once again social distinctions are overridden by natural affinity. Ironically, the well-intentioned governor will destroy the happiness of the group by persuading Virginie to travel to France, where a wealthy great-aunt has promised to adopt and educate her.

The print contrasts the pale elegance of Virginie's mother, an aristocrat reduced to poverty, with the darker skin and heavier features of Paul's mother, a peasant woman who had been abandoned by her aristocratic lover.