Art and the cycle

Abstract

From its inception, the bicycle was wedded to the printed image. This had the effect of inhibiting its appearance as a subject of classical art, so that there are very few paintings and even fewer sculptures of the cycle and its users. In the mid-century, development came to determine the place of the cycle in the world of art – photography. Photography, like the printed engraving, also served to position the bicycle within the realm of the visual image. Because photographic exposure speeds were slow, engraved images were widely used as illustrations for press reports of cycle races and competitive events. Pictures of hobby horse riders, velocipede riders and cyclists on the high bicycle and safety machine had all been shown with spokes carefully drawn or at least finely indicated. By the last decade of the nineteenth century the safety bicycle had become widespread and almost everyone had at least seen one in use and most had tried the machine.