Twee mannen in een automobiel in Chantilly Possibly 1900 - 1912

This photograph, by Delizy, captures two men in an automobile in Chantilly, using a palette of monochrome tones that speak to the early days of photography. It's fascinating how the artist uses light and shadow to define the forms, almost like sculpting with tone. The texture seems smooth, a testament to the photographic process of the time, but look closely, and you'll see the grainy details that bring a certain depth to the image. The wheel spokes create this incredible radial pattern, like a drawing within the photo, and it's echoed in the circular headlamps. It’s a little like the geometric abstraction you see later with the Bauhaus, but rooted in something real. It reminds me a little of August Sander's portraits, that same documentary impulse, but here there's also this underlying current of excitement, the thrill of new technology, new modes of transportation.