Medium: Vintage poster, linen backed.

Condition Rating: A / A-

Good To Know: Stored in humidity controlled art storage facility, supporting images available upon request.

Arty-Fact: Steeped in theatrical tradition trom his vears as a stage caricaturist. Caopiello often chose pierrots. harlequins or clowns to represent various products. Here, in one of his most inspired designs, the clown embodies the spirit of the orange peel, a zesty ingredient in the Bitter Campari. The image has become one of the classics of poster desian. etfortlesslv combining the elements of surorise with the essence of the product.

The story of this world-famous brand name started in 1860 in the little Italian town of Novara, where Gaspare Campari opened his small wine shop. Within two years, he earned enough to open a care on a busy street corner in Milan. Annoyed that his competitors were able to sell everything that he did, he determined to produce his own distinctive liqueur in order to serve something unique. To this end, he developed a recipe tor a type or bitters and made a sample batch.

His timing was impeccable: bitters - alcoholic potions made from various aromatic herbs with a supposedly salutary effect on the digestive system - were just coming into voque at the time, and the Campari Bitter was an instant success. The enterprise grew, and by the time of Gaspare's death in 1882, the product was selling throughout the world. His son, Davide (1887 - 1936), expanded the family business even more, and in 1892, added a second successful beverage, Cordial Campari. Nearly every major Italian posterist (Dudovich, Codognato and Nizzoli among others) was asked at one time or another to design posters for this firm. Cappiello himself produced several including the Bitter Campari of 1912

Source: "Cappiello - The Posters Or Leonetto Cappiello" Jack Rennett. 2004

About Leonetto Cappiello

Born in Italy, Leonetto Cappiello began his career as a self taught artist of drawings. Cappiello followed his brother to Paris in the late 19th century and was so drawn to the dynamic artistic scene of the time that he decided to settle there.

During those early days in Paris, Cappiello was known as a caricaturist drawing for French journals and magazines. Several books of his works were published in the early 20th century featuring dozens of his now famous lithographic prints and a handful of colour images.

Cappiello's interest moved to creating posters where he quickly gained a reputation in the world of advertising. In fact, Cappiello has often been referred to as the 'father of modern advertising.' The early 20th century in Paris was a time of experimentation in the art world and the colour and vibrancy that Cappiello brought to his work on advertisements was widely celebrated. Cappiello's unique and innovative poster designs featured bold figures on black backgrounds - the opposite of what was the norm during this time.

One of the key points of distinction in Cappiello's pieces is that his style was so unique that his work was recognised irrespective of the brands he was advertising.

During the span of his career Cappiello created in excess of 530 original advertising posters which included the now famous images of Campari, Chocolat Klaus, Pirelli and Poudre de Luzy.