The Need for Speed
1902
Maurice Amédée Louis Biais was a French Art Nouveau painter, draughtsman and illustrator. He started by designing furniture and leather goods for La Maison Moderne, an Art Nouveau art gallery founded by Julius Meier-Graefe in Paris before following his career as a painter and illustrator. This lithography showcases an early racing automobile, that closely resembles a 1902 60HP Mors, tearing down a road past trees and a green landscape. There is a noticeable curvature to the road suggesting an off-road track quality and the speed of the automobile is emphasized by the dust and smoke from the automobile and the track. The movement in the wheels and the drivers determined forward leaning pose nicely highlights this speed as does the vagueness of the landscape surrounding the driver. Printing house J Minot, 34 Rue des Martyrs, Paris Dietrich du Bruxelles (Publisher)
