LUDWIG HOHLWEIN (1874-1949) ITALIENISCHER FESTBALL. 1939. 46 1/4x33 3/4 inches, 117 1/2x85 3/4 cm. Wihl. Mehnert, Munich. Condition B+: recreated right margin; restored loss in lower right corner; repaired tears and restoration in margins; creases in image. To promote an Italian-themed ball in Munich, Hohlwein provides a stylish, bright and festive image. Although immediately recognizable as his work it does differ in one substantial way from the majority of his posters: The background is atypically filled with detail--in this case Italian imagery that reinforces the ball's theme. As this was a one-night event, the poster would have been printed in smaller numbers than usual. The jubilant poster resolutely ignores the geo-political situation in Germany, just one month before the annexation of Czechoslovakia and half a year before the invasion of Poland. Hohlwein / Stuttgart 427.
