Background
Cappiello was born in Livorno, Tuscany, Italy, on April 9, 1875. His father was a maritime liquidator.
Cappiello at work.
Cappiello in his studio.
A self-portrait, circa 1902.
Cappiello at work.
Cappiello in his studio.
Cappiello at the age of 39.
A self-portrait, circa 1902.
(Dessert Exquis, Medaille D'argent, Exposition Universelle...)
Dessert Exquis, Medaille D'argent, Exposition Universelle, Paris 1900. Poster Shows a Woman Eating Almond Cookies.
(It is one of Leonetto Cappiello's older works, painted in...)
It is one of Leonetto Cappiello's older works, painted in 1910 for An Italian Brand of Vermouth, a Fortified Wine.
(An advertisement for liquor)
An advertisement for liquor
Cappiello was born in Livorno, Tuscany, Italy, on April 9, 1875. His father was a maritime liquidator.
Leonetto Cappiello had no formal training in art, however, right from his youth he became interested in painting, so he was a self-taught artist.
Cappiello's earliest known artworks dated to 1889. The same year, Diego Martelli, an Italian art critic, introduced the young Cappiello to the group of Leghorn artists. At this time, his artworks comprised of portraits, interiors with figures, and landscapes and he worked on these themes until the end of the century.
Cappiello first showed his art pieces in 1892, at a group exhibition in Florence. His focus shifted to caricature, and in 1896 he produced his first album of caricatures entitled "Lanterna Magica". In 1898 he went to Paris, and almost immediately decided to settle there. As a caricaturist he worked on numerous French magazines like Le Rire, Le Sourire, Le Cri de Paris, Femina, L'Assiette au Beurre, La Baionnette, and others, and was very successful because of his innovative language.
In 1900 he signed his first contract with the printer and publisher Pierre Vercasson. It marked the beginning of his career as a poster artist. He worked for sixteen years producing hundreds of posters, and bills. In 1902, a 24-page book of his caricatures came out. It was entitled "Gens du Monde" ("People of high society") for the magazine L’Assiette au Beurre. The following year a 38-page book "Le Théâtre de Cappiello" ("The theatre of Cappiello") was published for a special issue of Le Théâtre magazine. It was during this time that Cappiello started to move away from caricature work favouring posters.
In 1903 Leonetto Cappiello produced a poster for Choccolat Klaus that was a great success. In this product and in many of his later contracts the images or the characters he used became not only related to the product that was to be advertised but also existed independently as a "brand"; they became unique and recognisable creations. In 1905 "70 Dessins de Cappiello", a collection of caricatures previously published in the press, was published by H. Floury.
Starting from 1912 Leonetto Cappiello also worked as an interior decorator, diverse rooms in the Galeries Lafayette in Paris and at Villa Dreyfus at Saint Germani en Laye are evidence of this.
During the First World War, Cappiello returned to Italy to work as an interpreter. He still found some free time to participate in charity events for the war-wounded, published satirical caricatures at the expense of the Germans and created a few posters. Cappiello created a cover of the original edition of the Poète Assassiné (The Poet Assassinated) by Apollinaire in 1916.
After the armistice of 1918, he went back to France and joined the editor Devambez in 1919, working for him until 1936. He exhibited his artworks at the first Salon de la Publicité (Advertizing Exhibition) and in Beauvais at the Salon de l’Affiche (Poster Exhibition) in 1920. Devambez organised a retrospective exhibition of Cappiello’s work in Paris in 1923.
In 1923 he worked on the decoration of several Parisian stores. Leonetto Cappiello created ballet costumes and stage decor projects, at first for Sacha Guitry, then for Leonide Massine, both in 1928. He decorated the fresco of the Dupont Restaurant’s bar, on Boulevard Barbès in 1935 and the 1937 exhibition at the Publicity Pavilion.
During World War II, the artist retired and moved to the south of France to Grasse.
Leonetto Cappiello was an extremely prolific and one of the most successful caricaturist and poster designers of the 20th century. Over the course of his career, Cappiello created more than 530 advertising posters.
Cappiello influenced a whole new generation of functional designers from Switzerland whose International Typographic Style would come to dominate the medium throughout the world. So, he ranks alongside Jules Chéret, Alfred Choubrac, Hugo D'Alesi, Alphonse Mucha as a pioneer of poster art.
The artist received several awards during his lifetime, the most important of which was the Legion of Honour of 1914. In 1921 he was promoted to the rank of officer of the Legion of Honour and in 1928 to the rank of commander.
On his death, Leonetto Cappiello left a considerable number of artworks which would be the object of many exhibitions and retrospectives. In 1981 a major retrospective of Cappiello's applied art was staged at the Galleria Nationale du Grand Palais in Paris.
Today, his original posters are still collected, sold at auction and by dealers around the world. Some of his paintings are on display in the Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori in Livorno.
Asti Cinzano is a Painting by Leonetto Cappiello.
(It is one of Leonetto Cappiello's older works, painted in...)
Amandines De Provence. Biscuits H. Lalo
(Dessert Exquis, Medaille D'argent, Exposition Universelle...)
Contratto
(An advertisement for liquor)
Je Fume Le Nil
Cognac Pellisson
Pneu Baudou "la Sirène"
Save Your Money
Corset Le Furet
A Nursemaid Holding a Senile Man in Her Lap and Feeding
Laveuse Mignon
Bitter Campari
Royal Melchior
Maurin Quina
Parapluies Revel
Cachou Lajaunie
Cachou Lajaunie
Affiche Pour Le Film Et Le Feuilleton Judex
Plm Exposition Monaco
An Old Man in Night-clothes Holding up a Box of "Uricure"
A Family Demonstrating Underclothes Sold by Docteur Rasurel
Vilajuiga Mineral Water
La "revue Illustrée" Traverse Le Monde
Nitrate De Chaux Le Gaulois
Conserves Dauphin
L'usage Du Tub
Crème De Luzy
Charrue Huard
Montre Élection
Cordial Médoc
Affiche Pour Les Fêtes Du 5ème Congrès De La Corda Fratres Tenu À Bordeaux
Fleurissez Vos Fenêtres
Baudin
Seldague
Bénédictine
Cognac Monnet
Source Reine Spa Monopole
Though Cappiello was an Italian-born artist, he mainly lived and worked in Paris. Eventually, he took on French nationality in 1930.
Leonetto Cappiello married Suzanne Meyer, sister-in-law of Lucien Mühlfeld, a literary critic, and Paul Adam, a writer, in 1901. They gave birth to two children.
