Date: 1974
Size: 20 x 30 inches
Artist: Reboiro, Antonio Fernandez
Viva el Artista (Engl: Hail the Artist, Fr: Salut l'artiste, Italian: L'idolo Della città) is a 1973 Franco-Italian comedy film directed by Yves Robert and starring Marcello Mastroianni, Françoise Fabian, and Jean Rochefort. It tells the story of Nicolas Montei, a second-rate workaholic actor haunted by bad luck, finds himself wasting away in mediocre acting gigs while going back and forth between two women who both listen to his lies without contest. When a big important role slips through his fingers, his partner and mistress leave him. Tail between his legs, he returns to his estranged wife only to find her pregnant with a Canadian man's child.
Antonio Fernandez Reboiro (b. 1935) is a renowned Cuban graphic artist best known for the film posters he designed for ICAIC (Instituto Cubano de Arte e Industria Cinematográficos, or Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Arts and Industry). Created in 1959, ICAIC was charged with producing posters for all films made in Cuba and for foreign films shown in Cuba. He first studied architecture and design at the University of Havana before becoming a graphic designer, film director, set designer, magazine editor, and architect. His style and technique are highly versatile, ranging from Art Nouveau (like this one!) to minimalist to collage. His posters can be found in museums around the world, including the MoMA in New York, the National Gallery in London, and Paris's Centre National d'Art et de Culture George Pompidou.