40x28¼ inches, 101½x71¾ cm. W. Wassermann, Basel. Condition A: small repaired tears at bottom edge.
Eduard Johann Renggli, the son of two artists, was a Swiss drawing teacher, painter and graphic designer. This poster was his design for the 56th Federal Gymnastics Festival in Basel - an event dating back to 1832, and one of Switzerland's oldest sporting traditions. "The early Swiss gymnastics movement was closely associated with the formation of the federal state of 1848; gymnasts publicly embodied the unity of Switzerland in a democratic-liberal sense" (https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2021/10/history-of-gymnastics/). School gymnastics lessons were made compulsory for boys, as a mode of fitness preparation for the military. As seen in Renggli's depiction of collective and synchronized exercises, the white dress code was mandatory until 1972. Artist Karl Ballmer also designed the official postcard for this event in 1912.
Swiss Sport 86, Margadant 497, Modern Poster p. 77, MoMA 432.1985.
