Palace Hotel Winter - Cardinaux

Skating takes second place to people watching in this elegant and exceptionally rare poster for the Palace Hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The blasé mood of the central figures reflects the high-society clientele that the hotel catered to and wanted to entice to visit. Each of the figures in the scene look in different directions, with the seated central figure staring at us intently. This dramatic break with convention immediately transports us into the scene - it is as though we, too are in the snow watching the elegant promenade of skaters pass by. Notice how the flattened planes of color simplify the scene while the primary color palette creates a heightened sense of drama.

The Palace Hotel has remained in the Badrutt family since its founding in 1896 by Caspar Badrutt. Located in the heart of St. Moritz in the Swiss Alps, the hotel is a grand chateau-style building and the height of luxury. It quickly became a stop on wealthy tourists 'Grand Tours' in the 1890s -1910s. The Hotel's popularity soared further as airline travel made St. Moritz more accessible in the 1950s, and it remains the pinnacle of high end Swiss travel today.

Emil Cardinaux (1877-1936) was a Swiss-born painter and illustrator. He first began his career as a lawyer, but became enamored with art and changed paths in 1898 when he moved to Munich. It is in Germany that Cardinaux developed his style, which embraced flattened planes of color, strong outlines, and a Fauvist color palette. He went on to create over 130 posters in his career. This is one of two posters Cardinaux created for the Palace Hotel, the other represents the hotel in Summer.

The hotel opened in 1896 by Caspar Badrutt, with a chateau theme reflecting the romantic era of the "Grand European Tour". Caspar was the second son of Johannes Badrutt, who himself founded winter tourism in St. Moritz as the result of a bet. Like his father, Caspar had a strong sense of family and invited his son Hans back to St. Moritz and the hotel in 1898; at the time, Hans was traveling abroad to gain hotel experience. Hans took over management of the hotel in 1904.
Inheriting the Badrutt pioneering spirit, Hans was courageous. On his travels, he took the Palace name with him far beyond the borders of Europe, establishing the foundations for its fashionable reputation all over the world. When Hans died in 1953, his wife Helen and eldest son Andrea took over the reins. Helen introduced the "Palace Balls" while Andrea welcomed the American jet set with open arms. The hotel’s international reputation soared.

This 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 of our posters