Cognac Gautier Frères 1907

This poster for Cognac Gautier Frères, made by Leonetto Cappiello, has a kind of breezy, off-the-cuff energy. There's a real sense of play, especially in the way the colors push and pull against each other. Look at the juicy red of the grapes bursting forth, set against the deep blue background! Then, you notice the surface, smooth and almost slick, like it's been printed, not painted, in broad flat strokes. I can almost feel the speed of its making, the urgency to capture a feeling rather than just depicting a scene. The woman in the center, surrounded by grapes, seems to be both part of the landscape and yet larger than life. It reminds me a little of Matisse, who uses color and shape to build an atmosphere. Cappiello reminds us that art is not about perfection, but about how we see and feel the world around us, in all its messy, beautiful glory.