Gérard DuBois' giant whale-eye Moby Dick painting goes viral on Bluesky
A partial reveal of the French artist's Ahab-and-whale artwork draws thousands of likes and a flood of jokes, book recommendations, and art commentary.
What to know
- A partially-revealed painting of Moby Dick and Ahab by French artist Gérard DuBois went viral on Bluesky, gathering over 5,000 likes and 60 comments.
- The comment thread splits between people praising the artwork's scale and technique, others reflecting on reading or recommending Melville's novel, and a large volume of jokes riffing on the image.
- No further biographical or exhibition information about the artist or artwork is provided in the coverage; the discussion is confined to social reaction.
The dispute Some commenters marvel at the painting's realism and craft while others point out the whale's proportions (especially the eye size relative to Ahab) are physically implausible. · positions read across 34 posts and comments
The image is a springboard for jokes and pop-culture riffs about the whale and Ahab.
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“"I'm Moby from Guest Services. We've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty...”
robeleader.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
The post is a reminder to read, recommend, or reflect on Melville's novel itself.
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“I'm reading it now. Can't believe I waited until I was in my 60s to read this amazing work.”
mbdeed.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
The painting itself, and its exaggerated scale, is worth examining as a piece of art.
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“The funny thing is, whale eyes don’t scale up like other parts of their bodies, they top out at about 5 inches”
polyparadigm.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
Gérard DuBois French artistpmamtraveller.bsky.social Bluesky user who shared the painting
How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
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4
Readers use the post to recommend and reflect on the novel
A separate strand of replies turned to Melville's original novel, with people sharing that they were reading it for the first time, recommending it to teens, and noting Melville's humor.
“Moby Dick is an amazing book & should be recommended to all teens. It's both life affirming and life changing.”
— dunks00.bsky.social -
"I'm Moby from Guest Services. We've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty...
2 more of the top 3 · 16 posts in this stretch
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from hells heart or somthing i dont remember
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The funny thing is, whale eyes don’t scale up like other parts of their bodies, they top out at about 5 inches So Ahab’s shoulders are roughly a hand span wide in this pic, assuming no foreshortening
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Other commenters debate the painting's realism and craft
Several replies focused on the artwork itself, noting the disproportionate scale of the whale's eye relative to Ahab and praising the technique, while one commenter argued no real whale is that large.
“The funny thing is, whale eyes don’t scale up like other parts of their bodies, they top out at about 5 inches So Ahab’s shoulders are roughly a hand span wide in this pic, assuming no foreshortening…”
— polyparadigm.bsky.social -
I'm reading it now. Can't believe I waited until I was in my 60s to read this amazing work.
2 more of the top 3 · 13 posts in this stretch
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I also like this painting by an unknown Austrian artist.
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"From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee"
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Commenters flood the thread with jokes about the whale and Ahab
Dozens of replies riffed on the painting with quips imagining Ahab's and the whale's thoughts, references to warranty-scam telemarketers, and gangster-movie style one-liners.
“This lil muthafucka crazy as fuck and he gonna KILL ME!”
— bornindaeb.bsky.social -
I don’t know. I would be pretty terrified if a chipmunk tried to stab me with a mini harpoon.
1 more of the top 2 · 4 posts in this stretch
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only partially revealed, it's even more intriguing. talented artist. Multilevel piece.
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Bluesky user shares Gérard DuBois' Moby Dick painting
pmamtraveller.bsky.social posted an image described only as 'Moby Dick by French artist Gérard DuBois,' a partial reveal of a painting depicting a huge whale eye dwarfing a tiny Ahab figure.
“Moby Dick by French artist Gérard DuBois,…”
— pmamtraveller.bsky.social
What people are saying 11 voices from 1 site · best of 34 · verbatim
- Why would the whale's eye alone have caused Ahab so much psychological damage, given his obsession predates the encounter?
- Sep 21
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Why would that eye have caused Ahab so much mental damage? An eyeball as big as a human head? Surely he was unhinged before setting out for that quest? Discuss?🤔🙄😅🧐
- Sep 20
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I'm reading Moby Dick for the first time. I don't think I ever realized Melville's sense of humor.
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Why is Moby Dick out there looking like a Flock Camera?
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Ahab a really bad feeling about this. (It sounded better when I said it out loud. Ehh.)
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The mad (probably queer) (possibly suicided) king’s Disneyland Castle!
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There's something you don't want to see in the rear view mirror closing in on you!
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No whale on Earth ever looked that huge but I get that this is art. Extraordinary painting!❤️
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"Hmmmm.....he looks smaller in real life," they both thought at the same time.
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"Hey boss. What's with the obsessive-compulsive megalomania?"
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#MONEY as RELIGION CAPITALISM is #INCOMPATIBLE with LIFE on Earth - IPCC Let's #DESTROY work & economy > REQUISITION #ABOLISH Police/Army & POLITICAL PARTIES > EMANCIPATION
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Reminds me of this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3Rv... SOUND OFF: the dub... yikes.