HANS THÖNI (1906-1980) IIIme GRAND PRIX AUTOMOBILE DE SUISSE. 1936.
38 3/4x27 inches, 98 1/2x68 1/2 cm. Société Polygraphique Laupen, Berne.
Condition B+: repaired tear at lower right edge and in far right image; minor creases and abrasions at edges; creases in image; pin holes in upper corners; linen trimmed to poster.
Thöni studied at Kunstgewerbeschule in Zürich and trained for four years in Paris before opening his studio in Bern. As a freelance graphic designer, he worked as an illustrator, stamp and exhibition designer and a member of the Verband Schweizer Grafiker. His major contribution to poster art is a number of works for the Swiss railway, in which he experimented with photomontage and collage. Thöni's design for the Grosser Preis der Schweiz - the Grand Prix of Switzerland - was used to promote this race between 1935 and 1937, with different text and color variations. This is the rare French version of the poster for the 3rd Grand Prix, in 1936. Thöni skillfully crops the simplified racecar in the foreground, so as to give the visual effect of speeding toward the viewer.