Chaussures J.B. Torrilhon c. 1920

Leonetto Cappiello made this advertisement poster for J.B. Torrilhon shoes, and, well, it's got this frog, right? With the brightest yellow belly, the frog leaps forward. I mean, what was Cappiello thinking when he dreamed this up? He probably needed to grab our attention fast. It's kind of a visual joke. I can imagine him working quickly, laying down these bold colors to grab people's attention. The frog itself is outlined with this soft gray edge. It suggests movement, like it's zipping through the air. One foot sports a shiny black shoe from J.B. Torrilhon. The frog seems to almost vanish into the dark and wet world of the poster. These poster artists, like Cappiello, really understood how to boil things down to their essence. Each piece feels like it’s in conversation with others across time. They’re all inspiring each other to see, create, and most importantly, make us look twice.