Travel to infinity 1899

Émile Friant painted “Travel to Infinity” with oil on canvas, showing a golden hot air balloon ascending through the clouds above a group of figures. Produced in France, at the end of the 19th century, this image uses the popular symbol of the hot air balloon to explore the idea of progress. The belle epoque was a period of optimism, where advances in science and technology promised to transform society. Here, we see how that progress is viewed from different social positions. In the lower portion of the image, it seems as if the figures are beckoning or even pleading. Are they hoping to rise along with the balloon? Or are they chained to the earth? To better understand this painting, one could investigate visual and literary sources from the period, such as novels by Jules Verne. This would enable us to explore the meaning of technological advances for the politics and social structure of the time.