Long-Overlooked Painting Reveals Genius of a Forgotten Black Polymath

Long considered a satirical painting, new research shows Francis Williams was celebrating recording the arrival of Halley's comet in 1759.

1 comments

I wonder if the stars were brighter in the painting when it was new or if they come across more strongly in person or something... It would be an awful lot of effort to make such an accurate night sky and then not make it visible.

And if the comet is what the painting is celebrating, why not make that brighter too?