Parapluie-Revel 1922
Buy this print on Etsy →A figure leaps through the rain in a swirl of pure delight, and one of the most famous images in all of poster history is born. This is Leonetto Cappiello's 1922 Parapluie-Revel, created for the Revel umbrella company of Lyon and celebrated ever since as a masterpiece of graphic invention, a rain-dance rendered in sweeping arpeggios of form and color.
Cappiello, the artist who revolutionized advertising, built the design around a single unforgettable gesture. The composition unfolds like a musical performance, its central figure moving with such energy and grace that you can almost hear the splash of water and feel the joy of motion. Against a deep, flat ground, the swirling umbrella and dynamic silhouette leap forward with the boldness that became Cappiello's trademark and made his posters impossible to ignore. So successful was this image that Revel commissioned a companion design for its hosiery line. Nearly a century later, its celebration of movement, playfulness, and sensory delight continues to enchant, a definitive icon of the golden age of French advertising art.
Parapluie-Revel is routinely ranked among the greatest posters ever created, a design so influential that it is studied in art schools and celebrated in museum collections around the world. Cappiello achieved something remarkable here: he made an umbrella, of all things, the vehicle for an image of pure, ecstatic movement, proving that his method could transform even the most ordinary product into unforgettable art. The poster's spiraling energy and jewel-bright palette against the dark ground exemplify the innovations that earned him the title of the father of modern advertising. Owning this image means owning a genuine landmark of graphic design, a work whose joy and daring have never dimmed. It remains as fresh and exhilarating today as it was a century ago, a burst of color and motion that lights up any room it enters.
Our reproduction captures that brilliance in full. Printed on museum-grade 189gsm archival matte paper with pigment inks, it renders Cappiello's saturated color, fluid linework, and dynamic composition with a smooth, glare-free matte finish. The substantial, acid-free stock resists fading, keeping the artwork vivid for years. This is a fine-art reproduction, not an original antique, offered in five sizes: 8x12, 12x18, 16x24, 20x30, and 24x36 inches. Every poster ships rolled in a protective tube, ready to frame.
An iconic Cappiello poster brings joyful sophistication to a living room, entryway, study, or hallway. Hang it as a bold statement above a sofa or console, or make it the centerpiece of an advertising-art gallery wall. Its dynamic color and timeless design complement modern, mid-century, and eclectic interiors alike. As a gift, it delights graphic designers, Francophiles, and collectors of vintage poster art. Framed in slim black or white, it becomes an instant conversation piece full of energy and charm.
Bring home one of poster history's greatest masterpieces and let its rain-dance of color enliven your walls.
