The whole history of posters in a large exhibition in Hamburg

From the origins in 19th century to the digital era and globalization: “The Poster. 200 years of Art and History” retraces the long history of this artistic and popular instrument at the MKG - Museum für Kunst und gewerbe in Hamburg.

Photo: Henning Rogge.

Atelier populaire; La chienlit – c’est lui!, 1968. Silkscreen (red fibre pen); 78,8 x 58 cm.

Herbert Bayer (1900–1985); European Arts and Crafts, Exhibition at the Grassimuseum Leipzig, 1927. Offset lithography, 89,7 x 60,2 cm.

Lucian Bernhard (1883–1972); Bosch, 1914. Colour lithography; 44,5 x 64,1 cm.

Christian Bettels (active 1883 – ca. 1930); Lithographer: Adolph Friedländer (1851–1904); Tiger (stockposter for a predator dressage), around 1885. Coloured lithography, 84,5 x 63,4 cm.

Leonetto Cappiello (1875–1942); Le Frou Frou, 1899. Colour lithography; 160,8 x 115 cm.

El Lissitzky (1890–1941); Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge, 1920. Offset print; 48,8 x 69,3 cm.

Georgi and Wladimir Stenberg (1900–1933, 1899–1982); The Man from the Woods. Sowjet Movie by Grigori Stabowoi, 1928. Colour lithography; 106,5 x 70,8 cm.

Grapus Frieden; Peace, 1989. Silkscreen; 60,3 x 80,2 cm.

John Heartfield (1891–1968); 5 finger has the hand – with 5 you grab the enemy! – Vote for List 5 Communist Party!, 1928. Lithography and half-tone; 90,2 x 61 cm.

Lithographers F.W. Kähler Kaiserlich; Imperial German Mail: Direct Mail Steam Ship Service Hamburg-New York, 1881. Chromolithography; 99 x 73,2 cm.

Jan Lenica (1928–2001); Wozzeck: Oper by Alban Berg in the Teatr Wielki, 1964. Colour lithography; 97,3 x 67,4 cm.

Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997); Crying Girl, Announcement of the Leo Castelli Gallery, 1963. Offset lithography; 43,3 x 58,3 cm.

Holger Matthies; Prussia. Three plays by Heinrich von Kleist at the Schauspielbühnen, Berlin, 1981. Offset print; 119 x 84 cm.

James Montgomery Flagg (1877–1960); I want you for U.S. Army, 1917. Colour lithography; 102 x 75,8 cm.

Henri Privat-Livemont (1861–1936); Rahjah coffee, 1899. Colour lithography; 78,8 x 44,5 cm.

Rougement (Charles Gesmar, 1900–1928); Mistinguett, 1927/28. Lithography; 157,5 x 117,2 cm.

Egon Schiele (1890–1918); Lecture by Egon Friedell at the Academic Association for Literature and Music, 1912. Lithography; 63 x 36,5 cm.

Oliviero Toscani; Angel and Devil – United Colors of Benetton, spring campaign, 1991. Offset print (six pieces); 296 x 400 cm.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901), Ambassadeurs – Aristide Bruant dans son cabaret, 1892. Colour lithography; 138 x 96,5 cm.

Niklaus Troxler; McCoy Tyner, jazz festival, 1980. Silkscreen; 128 x 90,5 cm.

John White after George Dunlop Leslie (1835–1921); Sunlight Soap, 1887. Chromolithography; 73,6 x 36 cm.

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Giulia Ronchi
27 February 2020
Hamburg
exhibition
2020

The poster keeps in it art, technique, design and advertising, showing with immediacy the taste and the changes of each epoch. This is why the MKG - Museum für Kunst und gewerbe, the museum in Hamburg dedicated to the relationship between art and commerce, celebrates its history, enclosing in “The Poster. 200 years of Art and History” the work of over 200 international artists.

It begins from the origins, when in Paris in 1830 (almost coinciding with the birth of photography) first advertisements appeared on the city walls. Until the outbreak of fin de siècle, when important figures like Henri de Toulouse-lautrec, Pierre Bonnard and Alfons Mucha gave life to iconic images symbolizing the rising modern society. Many stylistic elements of Art Nouveau came back in the 1960s thanks to Pop Art. Also Italian authors are showcased, such as the photograph Oliviero Toscani and his historical advertisements created for Benetton.

The Poster. 200 Years of Art and History
28 February until 20 September 2020
MKG - Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe
Steintorpl., 20099 Amburgo, Germania