Leonetto Cappiello is the Father of the Modern Poster. With his penchant for contagious exuberance and intoxicating overstatement, as well as the technique of utilizing strong, flat colors against dark backgrounds, Cappiello shocked, surprised and moved the viewer; he arrested the attention of the passerby with incongruity, and as a result, effectively etched an image into their mind's eye. He created an entirely new advertising vocabulary and his posters can be said to be fantastic - in a completely literal sense.
This is the largest collection of Cappiello's work ever presented - 534 poster illustrations in full-color - as well as the most authoritative. Detailed appraisals and annotations accompany each poster, including an introduction that provides the reader with biographical information and an additional 50 color illustrations that show the many other facets of Cappiello's talent - from book and magazine illustrations, to paintings, maquettes, postcards and, most all, his superb early caricatures.