L'Eau - Cappiello

This original French advertising poster was created by Leonetto Cappiello in 1912. Known as L’Eau, the poster promotes mineral water and was printed in Paris by P. Vercasson & Cie. Cappiello transforms the simple subject of bottled water into a fantastic and highly theatrical image. A woman with flowing golden hair rides upon the back of an enormous red-winged insect, triumphantly holding a bottle of water in each hand. Against the brilliant red background, her pale figure, green insect and sweeping ribbons create a dramatic sense of movement. As with many of Cappiello’s finest advertisements, there is little attempt to explain the product. Instead, he uses an unexpected and unforgettable character to capture the viewer’s attention and make an ordinary consumer item memorable.The design is particularly representative of Cappiello’s artistic genius as an advertiser. Mineral water offered relatively little visual excitement on its own, yet Cappiello created an image filled with fantasy, movement and brilliant color. His ability to associate even a commonplace product with a distinctive visual character was central to the new language of modern advertising that he helped establish in the early twentieth century.Leonetto Cappiello (1875–1942) was born in Livorno, Italy, and settled in Paris, where he first established himself as a successful caricaturist before turning to poster design. In 1900 he began his association with the printer and publisher P. Vercasson, during which he developed the bold visual language that helped transform modern advertising. Cappiello moved away from the detailed, illustrative approach of many earlier poster artists and instead used simplified figures, brilliant colors, strong contrasts and memorable characters to create images that could be recognized immediately from a distance. His innovative approach earned him the reputation as the “father of modern advertising.” He became a French citizen in 1930 and today is recognized as one of the most important poster artists of the twentieth century.To learn more about the artwork of Cappiello, please follow this link: The Ross Art Group – For the Love of CappielloThis is an Original Vintage Poster, it is not a reproduction. This poster is conservation mounted, linen backed and in excellent condition. We guarantee the authenticity of all our posters.