Zissou Taking Off in his Homemade Glider, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, 1910

gelatin silver print, h 70mm × w 112mm More details
© Photographie J.H. Lartigue © Ministère de la culture - France/ AAJHL

Lartigue is by far the best-known amateur photographer, as well as one of the finest and most influential. In his day, Lartigue’s father ranked among the wealthiest men in France. The photographs taken by the young Lartigue bear witness to a privileged and adventurous life. We see large luxury automobiles, beautiful women in the Bois de Boulogne, and his older brother Zissou who experimented with homemade gliders. In this photograph Zissou is taking off in his ZYX 24. The year is 1910, and aeroplanes were then still highly uncommon.