Asti Cinzano poster Leonetto Cappiello 1920
This vintage advertising poster is a high-quality reproduction of the original Asti Cinzano poster. The print looks superb when framed and suits both modern and classic decor. Ideal for the home bar, kitchen, or living room. The original poster was created in 1920 for the Cinzano drinks company by the Italian artist Leonetto Cappiello. It is one of the most iconic images in Cinzano’s advertising history. The image, which was first used in 1920, features a vivacious young woman relaxing on top of bunches of red and white wine grapes. She is portrayed brandishing a bottle of Cinzano in one hand, which appears to have left a ‘sparkler trail’ as she waves it around. The flamboyant young woman is set against Cappiello’s familiar black background, helping to offset the Baccahalian dressed in a white dress, billowing yellow cape and the brightly-hued grapes. The image perfectly captures the light-hearted spirit of the brand. The poster remains one of Cappiello’s most famous works.
Asti Cinzano and the famous poster artists
Asti Cinzano is one of the most renowned of all Cinzano sparkling wines. It is produced from the white Muscat grape in the DOCG area of Asti, at the heart of the Piedmont region. Its sweet and fruity aroma makes it the perfect choice for accompanying desserts or adding a touch of sparkle to any occasion. The sparkling wine from Piemonte, Northern Italy, Italy is made from Moscato Bianco.
The Italian vermouth, known best as Cinzano, was first developed by brothers Giovanni Giacomo and Carlo Stefano Cinzano. The famous Cinzano vermouths date back to 1757 when they created a new ‘Vermouth Rossi’ or red vermouth. The brothers blended a mixture of 35 ingredients from aromatic plants from the Italian Alps. The recipe is still kept secret but the results proved extremely popular with Turin’s influential aristocracy.
By 1898, Cinzano developed its marketing strategy to include new mediums such as adverts, posters, and postcards. The company has used the services of some of the most influential artists of their time. This advertising poster was created in 1920 by the Italian artist Leonetto Cappiello. He is considered ‘the father of modern advertising because of his innovation in poster design. Together with Adolfo Hohenstein, Giovanni Mataloni, Leopoldo Metlicovitch, and Marcello Dudovich, Cappiello is recognised as one of the most important Italian poster designers.
Cinzano wrote an important chapter in the history of sparkling wines in Italy. Savoy King Carlo Alberto asked the Cinzano brothers, already suppliers of the royal Savoy court, to create a new high-quality product in the vineyards in Piedmont, where Asti is still today cultivated and harvested by hand. By the mid-1800s, young Francesco Cinzano II finally succeeded in what his father had started, raising a glass of his Italian Spumante.
Other Cinzano poster designs
The advances of the stone lithographic printing techniques in the mid to late 1800s, saw the beginning of a new, colourful advertising age. Cinzano were keen on using the new mediums and printing techniques the belle epoque era had to offer.
Developing its communications strategy in line with the Belle Époque’s aesthetic, Cinzano adopted new mediums and techniques the era had to offer. Posters, postcards and adverts in newspapers and magazines soon became a big part of the company’s marketing plans. such as Telegrafo magazine, a prominent Italian daily newspaper at the time. Artists and printing was expensive and only the largest Italian brands could afford to work with artists and illustrators. In 1898, Cinzano lead from the front and were bold in their style. Enrico and Emiliano Cinzano collaborated with some of the most progressive artists of the time.
Three others we also love are again painted by one artist. This time they were produced thirty years later than the Hohenstein posters and reject both the art nouveau and art deco periods for a far cleaner, more modern artistic approach. The posters were created by Leonetto Cappiello.
The first, advertises the Cinzano Vermouth features a half-naked, toga-wearing man riding a red-striped zebra. It is one of the most iconic of all the Cinzano posters. The second was produced to advertise the release of the company’s Florio Marsala beverage. It expands on the zebra theme by adding a blue and white striped zebra running alongside the original red one.
Who is Leonetto Cappiello?
Leonetto Cappiello was born in Livorno in 1875 and died in Cannes in 1942 but he spent most of his life living and working in Paris. In his early twenties, he began visiting Paris and moved to the city permanently in 1896. He immediately began painting and earning a living as a caricaturist selling cartoons to the French journals of the period such as Le Rire, Le Sourire, and L’Assiette au Beurre.
Cappiello’s early poster style is very reminiscent and obviously influenced by the work of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. This can be seen in his 1899 Le Frou Frou poster, the 1900 Folies Bergere Spectacle Varie print the 1901 poster design for Corset le Furet, and his 1902 Réjane poster for the Theatre de Vaudeville. Lautrec’s influence is also apparent in his 1902 Champagne de Rochegre and 1906 Ofelia Perfumerie posters.
Cappiello is almost single-handedly responsible for what is considered the look of the modern poster. Rejecting the recent and popular art nouveau movement, Cappiello developed his own innovative style, creating a new modernist approach to poster design. His posters were the first to feature bold, unusual, colourful and memorable characters popping out of dark blue, green, and black backgrounds. The characters would often go on to become company logos, which, in itself was a new idea. During his career, he was responsible for creating more than 1,700 posters advertising everything from food, liquor, and travel to cars, corsets, and theatre productions.
Between 1901 and 1914, he created several hundred posters in a style that revolutionised the art of poster design. Cappiello redesigned the fin-de-siècle pictures into images more relevant to the faster pace of the 20th century. During this period, Cappiello continued as a caricaturist. During World War I, Cappiello worked as an interpreter in Italy.
After the First World War Cappiello returned to producing posters. His first meeting with Devambez in 1918 marked the start of a long discussion: three years later he signed an exclusive contract with the Paris publisher for whom he designed now famous icons: such as Kub, Campari, Parapluie Revel, Pirelli, Chocolat Klaus, and Poudre de Luzy, and the famous entertainer Mistinguett at the Casino de Paris. Unlike Vercasson, Devambez did not have its own print house and had the posters printed at a number of large printers. The agency concentrated on finding new clients from across Europe and successfully spread Cappiello’s celebrated works across the continent. He remained with the agency until 1936.
Today, original Cappiello posters are still collected, and sold at auction and by dealers around the world. Not bad for somebody with no formal training in art!
How much is an original Leonetto Cappiello Asti Cinzano poster worth?
Prices for original stone lithographic prints of Leonetto Cappiello’s work vary massively. The prices depend on so many factors, including condition, age, and scarcity. Some such as his 1920 Union Francaise poster and his Le Thermogene poster can still be bought for under or around the $500 price range. Many of the posters that turn up fall within a $1,000 to $2,000 price bracket, which is really what is considered to be the low end of poster collecting prices. But the good ones, the nice ones such as Cappiello’s famous elephant poster Je Ne Fume que Le Nil poster, and his two Contratto posters from 1922 and 1925 sell for between $5,000 and $8,000. Then, of course, there are the special ones such as the artist’s 1927 preparatory maquette for his well-known Cognac Monnet poster. That sold in 2022 for a cool $52,800. Now for that, I’d need to sit down with a good drink!
The fabulous Asti Cinzano poster vintage advertisement featured on this listing, for the French wine and spirit company is currently (2021) valued at between $3,000-$4,000.
There’s no argument from us, if you can find an original copy and can afford to buy it, you’re on to a winner. There’s nothing like owning an original vintage poster and they often make a great investment. Chances are in just a few years you’ll be able to sell it for more than you paid for it. Unfortunately, for most of us, an investment, even at the entry-level prices of the collectible poster isn’t even close to being a possibility. This is where our stunning high-quality reproductions come into their own. They cost a fraction of an original and look absolutely fantastic when they’re framed and hung on your living room wall.
This poster would look so cool in a kitchen or home bar or even a holiday let or Airbnb. Add a touch of vintage chic to your home decor. Order one with your next drink!
Vintage Beers, Wines & Spirits Alcohol Posters
Everyone loves a tipple… or so it seems. Actually, reports suggest that just over 50% of adults drink at least once a week. An estimated 29.2 million adults in Great Britain alone. The half of the population that do drink, consume wine, beer, cider, champagne, spirits… in fact, almost anything we can turn to alcohol.
Since posters first began being used as advertisements in the 1880s, they have been used to advertise alcoholic products. From Champagne and Wine posters, Liquer and Spirits prints to Lager and Beer Ads, there’s no doubt about it vintage alcohol posters have probably been the most advertised product over the last 120 years. Drinks posters have also produced some of the brightest, boldest, and most eye-catching of all the poster genres. Like the beverages, they are selling they are usually a crowd-pleaser.
Since the end of the nineteenth century, thousands of alcohol-related posters have been published. We are constantly adding new ones to our website, but we’ve selected ten of our personal favorites from our Food & Drink poster collection for you to look at. Despite the numbering, these appear in no particular order. You know the old adage, you can’t choose between your babies, you love them all equally. Well, that’s how we feel about these vintage alcohol prints.
- Monastine Liqueur de l’Abbaye de St Gratien – Eugene Oge – 1892
- Vin Mariani poster – Jules Cheret – 1894
- Absinthe Robette – Privat-Livemont – 1896
- Maurin Quina – Leonetto Cappiello
- Anis Infernal – Leonetto Cappiello – 1905
- Porto Ramos-Pinto poster – Rene Vincent – 1920
- Martini Torino – Marcello Dudovich 1930
- Berger 45 Type Marseillais poster – Roland Ansieau – 1935
- My Goodness My Guinness Lion Poster – Gilroy – 1937
- Kinagin, le Vermouth au Quina et au Gin – EP – 1941
Posters perfect for your home bar, office, kitchen…
We offer a fascinating collection of reproduction beers, wines & spirits vintage posters all guaranteed to make you merry without you touching a drop. If you’re looking for a poster to brighten up your drinks evenings then this poster will make your home bar complete. All our posters are available in a shot glass (small A5) sizes to pitcher (large A1) sizes, which means there’s one available to fit your space. The colors are vibrant and really stand out and they’re printed on a 300gsm (pretty thick) high-quality silk paper and they’re cheaper than a round of drinks at the bar! They make the perfect statement and will be sure to impress all your friends! Place your drinks poster order today. Cheers!
