Avions reposant sur le terrain (verso)

The verso of Lepère's 1914 drawing of military aircraft shows a second view of the same airfield scene, providing a complementary angle on the wartime subject that occupied the recto. The existence of drawings on both sides of the sheet is characteristic of Lepère's working method: he used every available surface, sketching rapidly and directly from observation. This verso view may show the aircraft from a different position on the field or at a different time of day, adding depth to the documentary record that the pair of drawings constitutes.

The recto-verso format creates a stereo view of the wartime moment. Where the recto shows the aircraft at rest from one angle, the verso provides additional information about their configuration, the surrounding landscape, or the activities of ground crew. Together, they function as a visual report — the kind of direct, unmediated observation that made Lepère's work valuable as both art and document.

The verso drawing completes the record. Together with the recto, it provides a 360-degree view of the moment when military aviation was born — captured by an artist who understood that the ordinary details of war are as historically significant as the dramatic ones.