Leonetto Cappiello

Leonetto Cappiello (1875 – 1942) was an Italian and French
painter, caricaturist and poster art designer. He is considered to
be “the father of modern advertising” due to his innovation in
poster design. Cappiello redesigned the fin-de-siècle pictures
into images more relevant to the faster pace of the 20th
century. He had a penchant for exuberance and overstatement,
and was the first poster artist to use bold figures in flat colours
popping out dark backgrounds, a startling contrast to the
posters early norm. Over the course of his career Cappiello
produced more than 530 advertising posters. His designs can
truly be said to be fantastic. Whether creating an advertisement
for fashion, liquor or food Cappiello brought a sense of fun and
laughter to every image he made. His characters dig into plates
of pasta, pop open bottles of champagne, and walk in stylish
clothing-usually portrayed with a sense of tremendous joy.
Today, his original designs are still collected, sold at auction
and by dealers around the world.