From earliest ascents in hot air balloons from 1783 onwards, their role in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, to the first airships and Wright style aircraft.
Didier
Humans have always wanted to fly, but Icarus warned us of the dangers. Despite those, Goethe’s Faust, witches, and pioneers with hot air balloons seem to have succeeded.
Moving around changed greatly in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the advent of canals, steam ships and trains, hot air balloons, and the bicycle.
The hill that rises from the densely-packed streets of Paris, painted by Jongkind, Alfred Sisley, Ilya Repin, Renoir, and others.
In search of realist or naturalist paintings of ballooning and early powered flight. Some surprises, and paintings by Watteau, Puvis de Chavannes, and Henri Rousseau.
The Eclectic Light Company 