Paris Omnibus

Claude Flight British

Not on view

Flight spent a great deal of time in France—he made art and taught classes at his cave outside of Paris every year—and was very knowledgeable about avant-garde movements. In this image, he depicted the rear of a Parisian bus as it drives out of the frame. On the other side of the composition, two figures, likely recently disembarked passengers, walk behind the bus in the opposite direction. The geometric reduction and fragmentation of forms, as well as the repetition of colors, speak to the influence of Analytic Cubism, while the emphasis on speed and the dynamic lines show the impact of Futurism. Flight praised the linocut as allowing artists to carve curved, fluid lines more easily and apply flat planes of color without unintended textural effects.

Paris Omnibus, Claude Flight (British, 1881–1955), Linocut

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