May 09 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2668 -

Sale 2668 - Lot 124

Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200

ADOLPHE MOURON CASSANDRE (1901-1968)

ITALIA. 1935.


39x24½ inches, 99x62¼ cm. Coen & C., Milan.
Condition B+: small repaired tears in margins; creases and abrasions in margins and image; margins slightly trimmed.

One of two images Cassandre produced for the ENIT (Italian Railway) during a 1935 summer's stay in Italy with his assistant Raymond Savignac. The other image depicted "the arts" of Italy, while this poster depicted "the sports," or leisure activities available to tourists. It is a compositional tour-de-force, promoting the lakes and mountains, tennis, sailing, skiing and golf, simultaneously. The image is literally tied together by the anchor's elegant rope.

As a French artist working in Mussolini's Italy, Cassandre used a monogram instead of his signature to protect his identity. Printed in English, French, German and Italian, most copies bear additional text explaining that Italy is "The Ideal Land For All Sports." This is the Italian version, with the additional text below the title. Mouron 192, Alps 10, Reinhold Brown pl. 58, Voyage p. 47, Manifesta 2, Travel Italia p. 14, Golf p. 15, Le Tennis A l'Affiche np, Tennis p. 67 (some variants).