An artistic gathering at Giverny

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Cars are not art, but there are certain similarities which must be recognised. Great cars rely on both great design and great craftsmanship. To that end, they are like art insofar as their creators, like artists, must possess a high degree of technical skill and an acute æsthetic sensitivity which combine to make a work of extraordinary beauty. Art pursues beauty for its own sake, as an end in itself, as do the best designers of mere objects.

There is no doubt whatsoever that Gabriel Voisin can be counted among the very best. A pioneer of monocoque construction, Voisin's aeronautical experience and preoccupation with intelligent construction, especially the application of lightweight metals, resulted in some of the best and most individual luxury cars of the 1920s. With a circle of friends which included architect André Noël-Noël Telmont, Voisin's stylistic creativity flourished, and many Voisins were instantly recognisable as such from their dramatic application of sharp angles.

Without knowing Gabriel Voisin personally, we can assume that he probably took a keen interest in art, so it is fitting that one of his cars appears here outside the gates to an estate in Giverny, Normandy. Behind the gates is one of history's most celebrated gardens.

The man on the left of the picture is Nickolas Muray, the Hungarian-American photographer whose atmospheric compositions and experiments with colour elevated photography, if not quite to art, then to an art. An admirer of Claude Monet, he is seen here in 1926 about to pay a visit to the great Impressionist, now a hoary but very stylishly-dressed gentleman in the 87th and final year of his life. Monet, we're sure, would have admired the car.

Unfortunately, we don't know any more about the Voisin. Is anyone able to positively identify it, or the coachbuilder? Does it still exist today? We'd very much like to know.

Words: Zack Stiling; picture: Nickolas Muray
 

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