Leonetto Cappiello --The Father of Modern Advertising

1960 Absinthe Poster

Considered by many as the father of modern advertising, Leonetto Cappiello was an Italian poster art designer in Paris, France.  Coming from a paint and caricature artistic background, Cappiello crafted posters designs that were simple with either funny or strange interpretations, often using bold figures popping out of dark backgrounds.  His caricatures of Parisian actresses are kind of amazing, as are his animal posters.

During the early 1900s when he began his innovative approach in designing posters, he developed his own style and refused to go along with graphic styles that were gaining popularity at the time like the Art Nouveau movement.  His work speaks for itself in terms of distinctness during an early era of poster design, and is as good inspiration as any today to graphic designers.