Bally - Lyon Small

This original French advertising poster was created by Leonetto Cappiello in 1933 for Bally Lyon, a retailer of Bally shoes. The slogan “Le meilleur marché par la qualité” translates as “The best value through quality,” emphasizing the company’s reputation for quality footwear. Cappiello created the design during his long association with the Paris printing firm Devambez.Cappiello reduces the advertisement to its essential subject: shoes. Two elegantly rendered hands present a man's black shoe and a woman's high-heeled pump, while additional shoes appear suspended above. The uncluttered background and strong contrast between the black footwear, pale hands and bold red Bally Lyon lettering immediately focus attention on the product.The poster demonstrates Cappiello's ability to create an effective advertising image with remarkably few elements. Rather than showing fashionable men and women wearing Bally shoes, he isolates the footwear itself and gives it a sense of movement and elegance. The result is a sophisticated example of Cappiello's later work, in which a simple visual idea communicates both the product and its fashionable character almost instantly.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, and in 1921 signed an exclusive contract with Devambez. 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.