Leonetto Cappiello Veuve Amiot / Cremant du Roi
Buy this print on Etsy →Raise a glass to one of the most charming advertising posters of the Belle Époque. Created in 1922 by Leonetto Cappiello - the Italian-born genius often called 'the father of modern advertising' - this exuberant design sold the sparkling wines of Veuve Amiot, the celebrated house of Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent near Saumur in France's Loire Valley. A merry little king in a golden crown and ermine-trimmed scarlet robe lounges against crates of 'Crémant du Roi', a coupe of bubbling wine raised in one hand as he brings the fingers of the other together in that unmistakable gesture of perfection: exquisite.
The image is a perfect lesson in why Cappiello changed advertising forever. Before him, posters were crowded and fussy; he stripped everything away and built each design around a single, unforgettable character floating on a plain, moody ground - here a soft slate grey that makes the yellow-and-black harlequin tunic, the red robe and the golden crown positively glow. That one bold figure, instantly memorable and impossible to ignore from across a busy street, was Cappiello's revolutionary idea, and it made him the most sought-after poster artist in Europe. His flamboyant king doesn't just sell wine; he embodies the giddy, celebratory pleasure of it.
Veuve Amiot itself was a genuine success story - a sparkling-wine house built up by a formidable widow (the 'veuve') into one of the great names of Saumur méthode-traditionnelle fizz, and grand enough to commission the era's finest poster designer. Cappiello's signature and the date, 1922, sit proudly at the lower right, a reminder that this is a real piece of design history from the golden age of the French affiche.
On a wall the poster is pure joy. The palette - scarlet, gold, black and cream against cool grey - is warm, festive and endlessly flattering to a room, and the whole thing radiates good humour. It is a natural for a bar cart, home bar or wine nook, a kitchen or dining room, a cocktail lounge or a cheerful gallery wall, and it makes a wonderful gift for wine and champagne lovers, Francophiles, collectors of vintage advertising, or anyone who appreciates the wit of classic poster art. It pairs beautifully with other Belle Époque and bar-cart prints.
Because the original was published in the 1920s and Cappiello's work is now in the public domain, we are able to reproduce it at full museum quality.
Each print is produced on premium 189 gsm museum-grade archival matte paper, faithfully capturing the punch of the red, the shine of the gold and the warm vintage tones of the original lithograph - ready to frame and enjoy for years to come.
