Aston Martin Vanquish (detail) | Limited100

Photograph by Thomas Boudewijn. Edition of 100. Handcrafted in Britain by Limited100.

This is a study of surface rather than a portrait of a car. Boudewijn works close, in controlled light, and the result reads first as form; a curve, a shut line, the way a highlight travels along an edge, and only afterwards as an Aston Martin. It is the rare piece of automotive art that holds a room without announcing what it is from across it, which makes it work in an office or a hallway as readily as a collection room.

The technique behind it is deliberate. Boudewijn shoots using focused diffused lighting, a method he developed to strip reflections off bodywork entirely. Most car photography accepts reflections as unavoidable; he removes them, leaving the panel itself — its shape, its depth, the exact colour of the paint under it. He calls the result art on wheels, and describes the work as a tribute to the people who designed the cars rather than to the cars themselves. He runs workshops teaching the technique to other photographers.

The subject is the Mk1 V12 Vanquish, built at Newport Pagnell between 2001 and 2007: the last Aston Martins hand-assembled at that factory before production moved to Gaydon. Ian Callum drew it. Beneath the bonnet sits a 5.9-litre V12 producing 460 bhp and 400 lb-ft. It was also the Bond car in Die Another Day in 2002, though on the evidence of this photograph that is the least interesting thing about it.

Provenance and edition

One hundred pieces of this Aston Martin wall art will be produced; every size and material combined, not one hundred per format. When the edition closes it is retired and never reprinted.

Each piece ships with a certificate of authenticity giving the edition number, the title, and the exact dimensions and format supplied, hand-signed by both the artist and the Limited100 curator. A brushed aluminium decal is fixed to the reverse.

Specification

Portrait format. Framed pieces arrive ready to hang.

• 11.7 × 16.5 in - from £179
• 16.5 × 23.4 in - from £269
• 23.4 × 33.1 in - from £369
• 33.1 × 46.8 in - from £549
• 47.2 × 66.9 in, Ultra HD aluminium - £1,899

Fine art paper in a natural, black or white wood frame, with white, cream or black mount options; canvas on a natural wood internal frame; or aluminium composite.

Made to order in Nottinghamshire and certified by Made in Britain. Produced in one working day, delivered worldwide DDP - import duty and taxes are included in the price, with nothing payable on receipt.