Date: 1914 (original, larger sized poster printed in 1914)
Size: 10.25 x 14 inches
Artist: Luigi Emilio Caldanzano
About the artist: Luigi Emilio Caldanzano (1880–1928) was an influential Italian illustrator, etcher, and graphic designer renowned as one of the great masters of early 20th-century advertising posters.
About this piece: This beautiful poster belongs to the Portfolio "Gli Avvisi delle Officine G. Ricordi e C. Milano" (The Advertisements of the G. Ricordi & Co. Graphics Works, Milan) a famous and rare collection published around 1914, inspired by the famous French publication Les Maîtres de l'Affiche. The complete collection contains 70 color lithographic plates (chromolithographs) in a reduced size format. It represents an extraordinary testament to the golden age of the Italian advertising poster and Art Nouveau (Liberty style) graphics, closely tied to the world of opera and the Ricordi music publishing house.
This poster was commissioned to promote what is widely considered the world's first true silent film blockbuster. Directed by Giovanni Pastrone with screenplay titles penned by Italy’s famous poet Gabriele d'Annunzio, Cabiria (1914) was an epic silent film set in ancient Carthage during the Third Punic War. It revolutionized cinema with its grand architectural sets and innovative camera movements.
