ATTRIBUTED TO JACOB JONGERT (1883-1942) VAN NELLE'S GEBROKEN THEE. In-store display. Circa 1930. 35 1/4x48 1/2 inches, 89 1/2x23 cm. Condition B+: tear through top margin, affecting text; scratch in image; loss at lower right corner; pinholes in corners and image. Printed on corrugated cardboard. From the turn of the century through the 1930s, Dutch graphic design underwent a transformation from the swirls and complexities of Art Nouveau design, to a more geometrically simple style. Younger artists and designers associated with De Stijl brought a modern functional style to advertising. Jacob Jongert was the head of advertising at Van Nelle from 1923 to 1940. His personal style was a microcosm of the course of Dutch graphics. In 1920, a poster he designed for Van Nelle tobacco was infused with the swirls and details most often associated with Dutch Art Nouveau (see Swann Modernist Poster Auction #2079, lot 27). But by the 1930s his style had become one of geometry, sans serif typography and angular stylization. This in-store display, with it's graphic shadow effect of the tea cup, dynamic, crisscrossing diagonal lines and eye-catching background color was likely designed by Jongert, but if not, it was certainly designed under his direction.
