Lithograph of underwater scene by Eugen Ransonnet-Villez, from colour pencil drawings made by the artist while submerged in his diving bell
Featured on PDR in the collection En Pleine Mer: The Underwater Landscapes of Eugen von Ransonnet-Villez
In the late 1860s Jules Verne's fictional Captain Nemo cruised the ocean deep discovering new underwater worlds and creatures. In the same decade, the non-fictional Eugen von Ransonnet-Villez pursued his fascination with zoology by developing the technology to produce the first underwater pictures: seascapes drawn as he sat beneath the waves in his diving bell.