Poster design for the Permanent Exhibition at the Künstlerhaus, 1925

The painter, graphic artist and designer Bertold Löffler (1874–1960) created this poster in 1925 to advertise the permanent exhibition at the Vienna Künstlerhaus. The central motif of the poster is a stylized depiction of a young blonde woman, clad in a green coat and holding a small branch with four leaves in her right hand. While Löffler shows her upper body from the front, he rendered her head in profile. This profile is reminiscent of works by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) created around the same time. It further corresponds to the figural ideal of Neoclassicism, a style deliberately based on the canon of Greek-Roman antiquity that was highly popular during the interwar period. This suggests that the leaves may be laurel leaves meant to symbolize the glory of the arts. The theme is framed by letterings and a multi-arched black cartouche border.

MR, 2021