The Shipwreck, ca. 1886 (oil on cardboard)

Le Naufrage (Assigned title); Illustration for "L'Homme qui rit" in Édition Hugues (Subtitle) Rochegrosse, Georges-Antoine Illustration for "L'Homme qui rit", Part I, II, XVIII, "La ressource suprême". As the comprachicos' hurricane sinks after the storm, Doctor Gerhardus Geestemund reads the collective confession that he will place in Hardquanonne's flask and leave in the sea; it will later allow the identification of Gwynplaine.The scene depicted corresponds to the following text: "Then, in the middle of the sea, on this decreasing pontoon, a sort of trembling floor of the tomb, began, gravely done by the doctor, a reading that all the shadow seemed to listen to. All those condemned bowed their heads around him. The blaze of the torch accentuated their pallor. What the doctor was reading was written in English. At intervals, when one of these pitiful looks seemed to desire clarification, the doctor would interrupt and repeat, either in French, Spanish, Basque or Italian, the passage he had just read. Muffled sobs and thumping of chests could be heard. The wreck continued to sink. " Signature - Bottom left "G. Rochegrosse" Inventory number: 238