Portret van Adolphe Pégoud in zijn vliegtuig c. 1910 - 1913

This is A. Wyland's postcard of Adolphe Pégoud in his airplane, though when it was made, we don't know. Looking at this photograph, I can imagine Wyland trying to capture the daring spirit of early aviation. The grayscale palette gives it an almost timeless quality, like a scene from a half-remembered dream. The pilot's smirk hints at the audacity and bravery required to fly those early machines. You have to wonder what it was like back then, strapping yourself into what was basically a winged bicycle, trusting in little more than hope and ingenuity. The printing method really has a certain charm. It reminds me that art-making is a conversation across time, each gesture, each image building on what came before. I wonder who Wyland was looking at when he made this? What were they trying to say? And what can we learn from them today?