+ Expand

Description: LEONARDO BISTOLFI (1859-1933) PRIMA ESPOSIZIONE INTERNAZIONALE D'ARTE DECORATIVA MODERNA. 1902.
41x57 1/2 inches, 104x146 cm. Doyen di l'Simon Detti, Turin.
Condition A- / B+: restoration along vertical and horizontal folds. Framed.
Bistolfi was an important Italian sculptor who is credited with having designed this one poster (and also a mock version of the same two years later). It promotes an art show in Turin that was of extreme historical significance. Not only was it the first international exhibition of modern decorative art, but it was the show that launched the Liberty style in Italy. It is also considered by some to signify the beginning of the end of the Art Nouveau era, as it introduced elements of contemporary design that would slowly morph into the De Stijl, Art Deco and Bauhaus schools. Regardless of the historical interpretation, the show highlighted some of the greatest European designers. Bistolifi's image is a captivating symbolic representation of muses dancing in a field. Clad in the flowing robes of antiquity, the bolt of fabric they carry spells out "Ars," art. This is the larger format. Bolaffi p. 22, Manifesto 129, Maitres 1900 p. 125, Wember 136.

+ Expand

Condition: All items are offered for sale subject to Swann Galleries' standard terms and conditions of sale, which are published in our catalogues.