Time in France
Chladni spent from December 1808 to March 1810 in Paris France, as well as spending some time in 1810 in Strasborg. During this time, he met many other scientists such as the Count de Lacépède, who was like Chladni a fine amateur musician, and also was famed as a zoologist who completed Buffon's Natural History. While he was in Paris, he presented his work at the French Academy of Sciences to physicists Lacépède, Prony, Hauy, and music scientists Mehul, Gretry, and Gossec. Napoleon showed interest in Chladni's work and invited him to Tuilerie Palace to showcase his studies. There, he displayed his sound figures and performed a piece by Haydn on his clavicylinder. Lacépède was also present at this meeting with Napoleon in February 1809.
This figure is Plate 87 from Lacépède's Histoire Naturelle des Poissons. Lacépède was a French naturalist who studied fish and reptiles at the Jardin des Plantes. In 1798 he began publication of this 5-volume work and finished it in 1803. This argued for an early version of evolution through transmutation of species. This particular plate is from the Brussels reprint of 1835.