Ricordi - Onoranze A Volta - Pl 09

In 1914, The Ricordi Printing Company of Italy introduced a commemorative series called the Ricordi Portfolio, which included 70 small lithographic plates of its best designs between 1895 and 1914. This series was put together by Adolfo Hohenstein, and includes artists like Aleardo Villa, Marcello Dudovich, Leopoldo Metlicovitz, and Franz Laskoff. In the lead of Adolfo Hohenstein, this group of artists brought Art Nouveau, known as Stile Liberty in Italy, to a world class level. Much like Maitres de l’Affiche ("Masters of the Posters") curated by Jules Cheret in France, Ricordi Portfolio celebrates the rise of posters in Italy. Many of the images in this series are so rare that they cannot be found in other formats.

Founded in 1808, Casa Ricordi is an Italian publisher of primarily classical music and opera. In the 1870s, the publishing company opened an in-house lithography shop to print materials promoting its operas and sheet music business. Quickly, the printmaking shop became a leading lithographer in Italy and by 1895, it started to create posters for outside companies like Campari, the Italian film industry, the Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera, and the Mele Department store of Naples. The poster art in Italy was almost single-handedly developed by Ricordi.

This poster advertises an exhibition held in honor of the 100th birthday of Volta, the inventor of electrical batteries. The image portrays two young women placing a wreath around the cameo of Alessandro Volta (1754 - 1827), expressing their gratefulness for his invention. They hold a shuttlecock and a washboard in hands, indicating the tiring labors they had to do manually before the convenience brought by the electricity.

Adolfo Hohenstein (1854 - 1928) was a German painter, advertiser, illustrator, set designer, and costume designer. He is credited the father of the Italian poster art and an exponent of the Italian Art Nouveau. Born in Saint Petersburg, the capital of Russian Empire, Hohenstein moved to Vienna where he grew up and completed his studies. In 1879, he settled down in Milan, Italy, as a set and costume designer for theaters. In Milan, he met the musical publisher Giulio Ricordi and in 1889 began to work for the Ricordi Graphical Workshops, where he shortly became the artistic director in charge of graphic art.

This is an Original Poster; it is not a reproduction. This poster is printed on heavy weight paper, and in excellent condition. We guarantee the authenticity of all of our posters.