Vino Vermouth Fco. Cinzano E Cº 1901

Editor: This is Adolfo Hohenstein's "Vino Vermouth Fco. Cinzano E C°" poster from 1901. The figures are idealized and sort of float in the composition, even with the stylized vines wrapped throughout. How do you interpret this work? Curator: I am drawn to the figures; these nude youths offer us grapes. Their nudity connects them to Arcadia, or the Golden Age of man, to a time when, without labor, nature provided. The figures appear within the profile of a woman. Why might Hohenstein set these figures within the visage of a woman, an allegorical one perhaps? Editor: Possibly an Earth Mother figure, or an offering to this feminine symbol of the land and its bounty? Curator: Exactly. We find then the cyclical themes of nourishment, gratitude, and fertility. Considering vermouth's ingredients—wine, herbs, spices— Hohenstein conjures an arcadian ideal for this distinctly modern product. Note the typography! It, too, takes on this decorative symbolism with the branches growing on and through it. Does this further any reading for you? Editor: That all connects! The whole poster feels like a Gesamtkunstwerk, the design unifies these idealized images of nature to suggest that vermouth brings about that kind of earthly paradise. Curator: I see this visual vocabulary contributing to the continuity of classical themes reinterpreted through modern eyes. An ancient archetype, perhaps repackaged, for a modern consumer. Editor: This really deepens my appreciation for how historical symbols shape even seemingly simple advertisements. Thanks for sharing your insights!