Although born in Livorno, Italy, Cappiello spent most of his adult life in Paris where he became one of the most successful and prolific posterists of all time (he created more than 1000). His style is intimately bound up with the rise of modern advertising. Always bold, he focused on one irresistible image that could be absorbed in a second and remembered for a lifetime. He wrote: "Surprise is the foundation of advertising; it is its necessary condition."
It is hard to find a more suitable example of these words than Cappiello's Nitrolian. This poster for a quick drying paint is ingenious. The product dries so fast that the stairs can be painted moments before a lady walks down them. Cappiello has taken a very prosaic product and made it a very stylish and totally memorable classic. He finishes off the poster with a wonderful touch. The paint can itself contains a "poster within a poster": we see a miniature woman stepping down the newly painted steps.
This is inspired poster making, and helps to explain why Cappiello is considered to be the greatest product poster artist of all time.
Now hard to find, excellent condition with fresh color.
