34x22 3/4 inches, 86 1/2x57 3/4 cm. Tourangelle, Tours-Lyon. Condition B+: repaired tears and creases in margins and along vertical and horizontal folds; reds attenuated. Paper. Framed.
Born in Russia to German parents, Hohenstein studied art in Vienna before settling in Milan. He began working with Ricordi, the great Italian publishing company in 1889, designing sheet music covers for operas. Shortly thereafter, he became art director of the firm and began to design posters. Poster artists such as Dudovich, Mauzan and Metlicovitz worked under Hohenstein, and their posters reflect his influence as one of the masters of the Golden Age of Italian posters, "from obvious stylistic floral influences of French Art Nouveau and the German Jugendstil" (Manifesti Italiano, p. 114). Hohenstein was invited to work outside of Italy, in France as well as Belgium, where he designed at least two posters printed by the Belgian printing house J.L. Goffart. The Liberty Style at the turn of the century was triumphant in Italy, while the fascination for posters had begun to wane in France. Here, he advertises the innovations of Félix Marmonier, a famed inventor who created wine presses and equipment in the American style.
