Maraliment 1920

This is Leonetto Cappiello’s poster for Maraliment. The figures are built with flat areas of color, which gives this image a real graphic punch! And there's something quite delicious about the way the forms are simplified. I am drawn to the woman's red shoes, peeking out from under her skirt; they have a real liveliness. The whole image is organized around this diagonal line from the shoes up to the hat. Notice how the artist uses this little kick of red to pull your eye up and through the whole composition. Cappiello's use of color and form reminds me a bit of Toulouse-Lautrec, another artist who understood the power of the poster. But Cappiello’s is less raw, somehow. As with all great art, this piece refuses to be pinned down, inviting multiple interpretations and sparking an ongoing conversation across time.