Étienne Léopold Trouvelot: Ecological Villain And Astronomy Artist

Étienne Léopold Trouvelot left behind two legacies. One deserves admiration and respect, while the other earns him contempt and criticism.

As an amateur French entomologist, his most infamous mistake was introducing the spongy moth to North America, an invasive species that continues to wreak havoc on forests to this day. Fortunately, Trouvelot was also an artist and astronomer, whose mastery of both the paintbrush and the telescope resulted in thousands of stunning astronomical illustrations. His depictions of the cosmos were among the most accurate of their time. It is through these works that Trouvelot remains esteemed, even as history struggles to overlook his ecological misstep.