The Poster is a temporary promotion of an idea, product, or event put up in a public location for mass consumption. These ussaly take the form of an image paired with a title of some description, though they can also just be wholly text ot wholly imagery.
The First recorded form of poster (aside from Toulouse-Lautrec’s, Moulin Rouge) was the “Art Nouveau” credited as a masterpiece and was designed in 1894 by a Czech named Alphonse Mucha who worked in Paris.
Despite cross-pollination, distinctive national styles also became apparent – Dutch posters were marked by restraint and orderliness; Italian posters by their drama and grand scale for German posters their directness and medieval influence.
After the death of Toulouse-Lautrec’s, there was a left a void for a time in the world of posters that was filled by a young Italian caricaturist named Leonetto Cappiello who arrived in Paris in 1898.
Strongly influenced by Cheret and Toulouse-Lautrec, Cappiello rejected the fussy detail of Art Nouveau and instead focused on creating one simple image, it being often humorous or bizarre, which would immediately capture the viewer’s attention and imagination on a busy boulevard.
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