Affiche voor de Internationale Gastentoonstelling in Amsterdam 1912

This is Jac Jongert's 1912 poster for the Internationale Gastentoonstelling in Amsterdam, and it’s all about invitation. The palette of oranges and greens creates a warm backdrop to the nude figures in the poster’s center. But this is more than just decoration; the image acts as a host, literally, presenting the world, as the male figure lifts the orb with stars swirling above. He is a bearer, carrying a child and a staff entwined with snakes. I wonder what Jongert was thinking as he combined these classical figures with the geometric patterning around the border? Was he looking at Klimt? Or maybe he was thinking about earlier Art Nouveau posters by someone like Alphonse Mucha? Anyway, there is something so optimistic, buoyant, and open about this image. It makes you think about how artists inspire one another, borrowing and remixing ideas across time, and in so doing, invite us to join the conversation too.