INTERNATIONALE GASTENTOONSTELLING AMSTERDAM. 1912.
59x29½ inches, 149¾x75 cm. Jac. Jongert. Condition B+: small replaced losses at edges; small losses at lower right; repaired tears, creases and minor abrasions in margins and text. Framed.
Jongert studied at the Amsterdam Rijksakademie, most notably under Roland-Holst, for whom he later worked. From 1923 until 1940, Jongert was the advertising manager for Van Nelle, the Dutch coffee and tea company, and he is best remembered for the work he did during this period. His early works bear all the hallmarks of traditional Dutch Art Nouveau, as practiced by his mentor, Roland-Holst. Such is the case, in this poster advertising a Gas Exhibition, in which the strict, vertical layout, the frame of decorative elements and the central allegorical image "aim for high seriousness [and] formalism" (Modern Dutch Poster p. 17). Notice the repetitive appearance of the three crosses in the border. They are from the City of Amsterdam's coat of arms and are incorporated into the image in a subtle, effective manner. Modern Dutch Poster 27.
