Rouzat- Zissou leaves the ground on his glider

Jacques Henri Lartigue
France
1894 – 1986

Rouzat- Zissou leaves the ground on his glider
1910; printed later
gelatin-silver photograph
Place made
Paris
Medium
gelatin-silver photograph
Dimensions
21.5 x 31.0 cm (image)
30.6 x 40.5 cm (sheet)
Credit line
South Australian Government Grant 1978
Accession number
7810Ph52
Media category
Photograph
Collection area
European Photographs
Image credit
Photo: Stewart Adams

  • WALL LABEL: Public Image, Private Lives: Family, Friends and Self in Photography, 2016

     

    The young photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue and his older brother Zissou dreamed of flying and in 1910 Zissou built a glider based on that of the Wright brothers. He tested it on a windy day in the park at Rouzat. Lartigue’s photograph and diary entry record the success of his brother’s second attempt:

     

    Everything is ready now. Zissou is in position. He starts walking. He runs. Louis and the farmer pull the cords as hard as they can. One of Zissou’s feet goes up in the air … then up shoots the other one. Zissou is airborne! But … the glider starts cracking!  Zissou falls. The Zyx 22 is broken, but never mind … Zissou has flown.

     

    Julie Robinson, Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs

     

  • Public Image, Private Lives: Family, Friends and Self in Photography

    Art Gallery of South Australia, 5 February 2016 – 18 September 2016
  • [Book] LARTIGUE, Jacques Henri. Diary of a century.
  • [Book] Szarkowski, John. The photographs of Jacques Henri Lartigue.