Parmigiano-Reggiano Bertozzi Parma 1930 Poster by Mauzan

One of the most beloved food posters ever printed, this Italian advertisement for Parmigiano-Reggiano Bertozzi of Parma was created by Achille Luciano Mauzan (1883-1952) and issued in 1930. Mauzan was born on the French Riviera but settled in Italy in 1905, where he became one of the most sought-after commercial artists of his generation, producing a staggering number of posters during the Art Deco years before later working in Argentina and returning to France. The Bertozzi image became so popular that the firm reprinted it repeatedly; the sheet itself notes a fourth edition, "4a edizione 1930," and carries the line "Stampato in Italia."

The concept is pure wit. Three exaggerated, long-nosed connoisseurs lean in from the top of the poster, eyes wide and nostrils flared, sniffing a fine wedge of parmesan propped on a dark wheel of cheese. Mauzan reduces the men to their most expressive features - the great inhaling noses and intensely focused eyes - so the whole composition dramatises the aroma of the cheese, the true test of its quality. It is a caricaturist's joke turned into an unforgettable brand image, and it remains one of the classics of poster art.

The visual staging is masterful. Against a deep oxblood-red field framed by a bright yellow border, the trio's faces glow in warm flesh tones, their curling grey wig-like hair trailing down the sides. The golden wedge and its crumbly, hand-drawn texture sit at the centre, the cheese wheel carrying the round Consorzio-style seal and the flowing script "Bertozzi." Mauzan's red signature runs along the lower left. Below, huge letters spell PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO in orange over BERTOZZI in brilliant yellow, with PARMA beneath - typography as loud and appetising as the image itself. Printer and regulatory lines finish the base in the manner of period Italian affiches.

Mauzan's career gives the piece its authority. After settling in Italy he became astonishingly productive, credited with well over a thousand poster designs, and his work helped define the look of Italian advertising in the years around the First World War and into the Art Deco era; he later founded a successful poster studio in Buenos Aires before returning to France. His genius lay in seizing a single comic or dramatic idea and staging it at monumental scale, exactly as he does here. The subject is fitting, too: Parmigiano-Reggiano is one of Italy's most storied cheeses, made for centuries in the provinces around Parma and Reggio Emilia and prized far beyond its home region, so a firm like Bertozzi had every reason to commission an image memorable enough to travel. The result was so effective that it was reprinted again and again and has remained a favourite with collectors of vintage food advertising ever since.

Each reproduction is printed on museum-grade 189gsm archival matte paper with fade-resistant pigment inks, holding the poster's saturated reds, yellows and golds vivid for years to come. The refined matte surface is glare-free and shows off Mauzan's bold Art Deco colour to full effect. Available in five sizes for any wall, every print ships rolled in a sturdy protective tube, ready for framing.

🆓 ✈️ Free US shipping on this item

Styling tip: an irresistible, tongue-in-cheek piece for a kitchen, dining room, pantry, trattoria or foodie's gallery wall - it pairs perfectly with warm reds, natural wood, and other vintage Italian food and drink advertising.