Leonetto Cappiello: Always Something Quirky

The Italian artist Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942) was one of the most important international poster designers and is generally known as 'the father of modern advertising'.  In the fin de siecle of Paris, Cappiello distinguished himself from his predecessors Jules Cheret (1836-1932) and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) by depicting subjects in an entirely distinctive way.  There is 'always something quirky to be found in his work', as an art critic wrote following an exhibition in 1935.  Cappiello had started his artistic career as a caricaturist and settled in the French capital in 1898 to make caricatures and figures from the theater world and the high society.  Inspired by the many posters that decorated the Parisian boulevards, Cappiello decided to focus on designing advertisements.  He soon developed his own unique style, which immediately caught the eye:  the modern poster was born.

The exhibition Leonetto Cappiello: always something quirky will show – for the first time in the Netherlands – an extensive overview of the caricatures and powerful posters that the artist made using lithography.  In addition to the iconic works Nos Actrices (1899), Chocolat Klaus (1903), Campari l’aperitif (ca. 1922) and Kub/Bouillon (1931), also the sketches, pastel drawings and gouaches that Cappiello made in preparation for his caricatures and posters are featured in the exhibition.  The Dutch Museum of Lithography invites visitors to experience the oeuvre of this important artist in this unique exhibition.