Automobile Club de France. 1905.

ARTIST: JULES-ALEXANDRE GRÜN (1868-1938) SIZE: 62 x 46 3/8 in./157.4 x 117.8 cm PRINTER: Imp. Charles Verneau, Paris DESCRIPTION: “The Automobile Club de France was created on the initiative of three automobile enthusiasts, the Comte de Dion, Paul Meyran, and the Baron de Zuylen who became its president upon its inception on November 2, 1895. It is under his leadership that the competitions and the main salons took place. As proven by this poster, the salon did not only cater to races and tourism but also to the industrial and military vehicles—important markets as well. Beginning with the army maneuvers in 1900, the generalissimo only traveled by automobile. The army is outfitted with Georges Richard and Mors vehicles and Renault enters fully into the military market. In 1905 Grün discovers the world of color. He doesn’t fall into the trap of trying to describe—which would have been impossible. He decides to evoke. In the foreground a gendarme, saluting at attention, on the left a joyous crowd and in the background, standing out against the setting sun, as in a shadowgraph, a stream of barely identifiable vehicles” (Grün, p. 102). (Art Nouveau; Automobiles)