Sale 2459 - Rare & Important Travel Posters, October 26, 2017

Dudovich was one of the most prolific and important of the Italian poster artists. He designed over 600 posters in a career that spanned more than half a century. Nizzoli, who was an architect by training and considered one of the first Italian industrial designers (working for Olivetti), began his advertising career with the Maga agency in 1924. He was a bold artist with a strong sense of composition. In 1921, Dudovich and Nizzoli (along with Martinati) were appointed artistic directors of IGAP (Impresa Generale Affissioni Pubblicità). This exceptional collaboration bears both of their names - a rare occurrence, and perhaps the only time they worked together on the same poster. It was a popular image used on travel brochures as well; its appearance on a German language brochure helps to date the image to 1930, contrary to the previously cited date of 1932-33 (see www.travelbrochuregraphics.com) . “While fashion was at the heart of Lido life, it also exemplified . . . the cult of the body and open air and the leisure state of dopolavoro. But rarely did the Lido fail to draw attention to its proximity to historic Venice. In one of the most telling advertisements for modern beach life, a modishly costumed figure in a new Jantzen-type wool swimsuit wades into the Piazza San Marco as if she is about to confront, in all bravery and anticipation, the phallic form of the Campanile” (Venice, pp. 303-4). This is the English version. Adriatico 37 (var). [2,500/3,500] Lot 93 (continued) 93