Albert Robida's 'En l'An 2000' Belle Époque Flying Machines Aerial Promenade
Soft powder blues and pastel yellows bathe this whimsical chromolithograph in the optimistic glow of Belle Époque futurism, perfectly matching its lighthearted satirical tone. Elegantly dressed Victorian socialites — gentlemen in top hats, ladies in pink bustled gowns — cruise the skies aboard sleek torpedo-shaped aeronefs and ornate personal flying vessels decorated with stars and scrollwork. The crowded aerial thoroughfare teems with dozens of craft, suggesting a future where air travel is as casual as a Sunday promenade.
Not unhinged — Robida is too witty and refined for that — but the sheer density of fantastical flying contraptions crammed into one sky earns serious spectacle points. Think of it as the genteel, champagne-sipping ancestor of every pulp air-war cover that followed.
“RANT”
