The Flying Man (c.1850)
19th CENTURY FRENCH NAÏVE SCHOOL
Gouache painted from the verso on glass
In handmade gilt frame
SOLD
From the moment François Rozier and the Marquis d’Arlandes flew over Paris in the first human flight in a hot air balloon in 1783 to Louis Bleriot’s 1909 flight across the English Channel, the quest to send human beings skyward was a French national obsession.
Whether this picture was intended as a playful work of art or an illustration of a seriously practicable design is unclear. But it is so charmingly and skilfully rendered (painted on glass from the back the colours radiate) that one feels it’s almost bound to work.
If you would like to buy this picture (or see some more photographs), arrange a viewing or if you would just like to get in touch, then please call 01608-658003 or email [email protected]