1927 Tour de France - A Cigarette in Motion

This 40” x 60” oil painting is based on a remarkable photograph taken during the 1927 Tour de France. The original image captures Belgian riders Julien Vervaecke, Maurice Geldhof, and Gustaaf Van Slembrouck riding together mid-stage while calmly sharing a cigarette. Nothing about it feels staged. It is simply a moment that happened, documented as it was. That is what drew me in. In a race that demanded almost unimaginable endurance, this quiet exchange feels both ordinary and completely surreal to modern eyes.

The 1927 Tour was one of the most grueling in history. One hundred forty-two riders started. Only thirty-nine finished. Stages regularly stretched beyond 200 kilometers on narrow, uneven roads. That year the race experimented with staggered team starts, which meant teams often rode long sections alone and sometimes overtook others on the open road. The photograph likely comes from one of those stages. What fascinates me is not just the cigarette, but the reality of it. These men were riding steel bicycles in wool jerseys with little outside support, repairing their own machines, navigating heat and distance, and yet here they are lighting up mid-race without hesitation. It says something about the era. It says something about endurance.

In this painting I preserved the asymmetry of the original photograph. The riders are weighted to the left, leaving space for the road and landscape to exist on their own. I also chose to imply a faint rural structure in the background, barely visible, grounding the scene in working France of the 1920s. The building is not the subject. The moment is. Nearly a century later, the road still exists. The riders are long gone. This painting is my way of holding onto that brief intersection of effort, camaraderie, and history that was caught in a single frame.

The original artwork is oil on canvas, measuring 40” x 60” (approximately 102 x 152 cm).

Note: Original oil painting is held in reserve.  Please inquire for additional details.

Museum-quality prints are available in two sizes:

11” x 17” (approximately 28 x 43 cm)

16” x 24” (approximately 41 x 61 cm)

Each print is produced on museum-quality archival rag paper, selected for its rich tonal reproduction, soft matte surface, and long-term durability. The result preserves the depth of color and painterly texture while offering a refined, collectible presentation suitable for framing and display.