Le Mans 1956 Moretti 47

Michel Beligond was a French postwar and contemporary artist. Only ten paintings have been attributed to his name and he was a designer for Renault. One of his great hobbies was visiting car races in France. He created many drawings and sketches initially for his own collection but later on for the covers of race day program booklets and posters. He died at the early age of 45. This painting depicts a nighttime impression of the 24 hours of Le Mans race on the 28th and 29th of July in 1956 at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The Moretti 750 Grand Sport (nr. 47) driven by Marceau Esculus and Francois Guillard is being overtaken by a Lotus 11. There is rain in the air and the track surface would have been treacherously greasy. Exhaustion must be kicking in for the drivers and yet we can still feel the urgency and speed of the race seen through the eyes of Beligond.