Leonetto Cappiello’s “Victoria Arduino” exudes all the revitalizing energy of the eight steaming cups of coffee it depicts. From Italy, the self-taught Cappiello (1875 – 1942) was a former caricaturist whose groundbreaking advertising posters made him the most renowned artist of the early 1900s. For 40 years, he created 1000 posters whose flamboyant colors and dramatic figures broke advertising ground by making the products he was advertising synonymous with his popular imagery. Breaking 19th century artistic traditions, Cappiello’s playful, eye-catching work adorned ads for ballets, literature, plays, music halls, beverages and travel, and is still emulated today.

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