Exposition internationale Arts et Techniques 1937

This poster for the Paris Exposition in 1937, by Leonetto Cappiello, is a wild mix of dreamy classicism and graphic design. The cool blues of the background make those rainbow stripes really pop. You can see the figures were most likely blocked out first in light grey or white, before building up the background with that intense navy. I wonder, was Cappiello thinking about progress, about history, about the future? He’s put the flame of liberty in one figure’s hand, but then there’s another figure holding what looks like a protractor, maybe a symbol of technical drawing? What does it all mean? For me, the genius of this poster is in its mash-up of styles. Those clean lines of text with those wavy stripes and then those Greco-Roman figures... Cappiello is working in conversation with so many other artists, who are working in conversation with so many others. It’s exciting! And you get to be a part of it too!