Leonetto CAPPIELLO (1875-1942) - Lot 600

Leonetto CAPPIELLO (1875-1942) Revel Umbrella, 1922 Sketch, gouache, charcoal and graphite, initial model for the motif used in the poster, signed and dated lower right H. 58 cm - L. 38 cm (as seen) DV History: This sketch was acquired directly from Leonetto Cappiello in Paris by François Revel in 1922. The industrialist, anxious to establish his company's excellent reputation with a strong image, wanted to meet the undisputed master of the poster. According to family tradition, Cappiello would have amazed his interlocutor, whose request he was unaware of, by submitting his masterpiece directly to him, arguing with joy and pride: "I knew that an umbrella manufacturer would come to see me one day!" Exhibition: Lyon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Cappiello exhibition, June 30 to &- September 1961 (label on back) Bibliography: Plaquette du centenaire de l'entreprise Revel, printed in Paris by Draeger in 1951, single-page reproduction in black and white (a copy will be given to the purchaser). Cappiello, Catalogue of the exhibition organized as part of the Festival de Lyon, at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon in 1961, described under n°80 Note: On the occasion of this exhibition, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon acquired a set of original works from Madame Cappiello, including the poster model for the Parapluies Revel, H. 160 cm - W. 120 cm (inventory no. 1961-63). A jewel in the institution's 20th-century collections, this work has been regularly loaned and is currently on loan to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, as part of the exhibition Sous la pluie Peindre, vivre et rêver (November 7, 2025 - March 1, 2026). Bibliography (for the printed poster): Jack Rennert, Cappiello, The posters of Leonetto Cappiello, New York, The Posters Art Library Posters Please Inc. 2004, the poster described under no. 373 and reproduced full-page in color on pages 236 and 237 with a laudatory comment by the author: "For the Revel company in Lyon, Cappiello produced one of his most masterful works, a simple yet effective design that immediately draws attention to the product, the PARAPLUIE-REVEL, umbrellas braving the storm like the sails of black ships. All the elements of fine poster design are here: bold shapes, strong contrasts (the background is a surprisingly sunny yellow), a tight but lively composition, an unusual perspective - and no more detail than necessary. Who needs faces? Wind-blown coats eloquently describe the weather." Provenance: Descendants of the Revel family