Making of ‘Grand Prix A.C.F.’ (by Jacques-Henri Lartigue, 1913), 2016

The story behind the photograph…

Jacques-Henri Lartigue (1894–1986) was seven years old when his father gave him his first camera. His early images, which he preserved in multiple albums, have become associated with the Belle Époque, the period of prosperity and optimism preceding the First World War. Lartigue photographed the environment of his privileged background, often capturing fleeting motion: subjects in the act of jumping, gliders and kites in mid-air, elegant women perambulating. He also photographed the Grand Prix of the Automobile Club de France, which took place in Amiens on 12 July 1913. The No. 6 car – a Théophile Schneider driven by René Croquet – was one of the favourites, though it did not actually win. It has been suggested that Lartigue took his picture on a glass-plate negative using a large-format ICA Reflex camera with an f/4.5 lens, which would have been fast for the time. The distortions are striking, probably caused by the panning of the camera and the action of the shutter. Lartigue later devoted himself to painting, and his photography was not discovered until the 1960s. ‘Grand Prix A.C.F.’, with its impression of exhilarating speed, speaks of the exuberance of a carefree age.