?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,000
HERBERT MATTER (1907-1984) ALL ROADS LEAD TO SWITZERLAND. 1935. 39 1/2x25 inches, 100 1/2x63 1/2 cm. Condition B+: vertical and horizontal folds; minor tears at edges. Paper. Herbert Matter was a pioneer and early master of photomontage. This poster is part of the extraordinary series of Swiss travel posters he made from 1934-36, all consisting of close-up images that seem to spring at the public, against a background of clever montages. They revolutionized the concept of the travel poster and the very nature of photographic advertising images. This particular example, the most famous of the series, was inspired by Cassandre, whom Matter admired; the perspective is the same as was used in Étoile du Nord and La Route Bleue. In fact, this image can be perceived as the photographic version of Cassandre's ideas, augmented by Matter's unique style and talent. "Matter evokes the clear sky and white snow of Switzerland in a manner that emphatically asserts the modernity and sophistication of the country," (Word and Image p. 59). The poster also exists in English and German versions. Word and Image p. 74, Voyage p. 153 (var), Modern Poster 179 (var), Swiss 281, Photoplakate, p. 120 (var), Müller-Brockmann 150, Mandagant 281; Art Deco, p. 71.
