Leonetto CAPPIELLO (1875-1942) - Lot 50

Leonetto CAPPIELLO (1875-1942) Columbine and the two musicians Oil on canvas. 217 x 199 cm In pastel tones, these two harlequin musicians surround a Columbine. Stylistically speaking, this work probably dates from the 1930s. Totally unrecognized today, Cappiello's work as a decorative artist was considerable(1) , as his historiographer Jacques Vienot has rightly noted: "his artistic activities are constantly superimposed and overlapping". In 1907, following Chéret's example, he received his first interior decoration commission (from Monsieur Louis-Dreyfus). He went on to decorate numerous hotels, including a ceiling in the home of Baron Henri de Rothschild in 1920 that caused quite a stir... But his creations were not reserved for the happy few! In 1912, Galeries Lafayette commissioned him to decorate their tea room, reading room and smoking room - all to great acclaim. In 1935, the Dupont-Barbès brasserie was a huge popular success, with a gigantic fresco (22 x 3 m) evoking Montmartre. Finally, another monumental work, the red and white horses of La Force motrice, were the central decorative element of the advertising pavilion at the 1937 exhibition. Like those by Chéret(2) , one of the two decorative panels presented here is an oil on canvas. As fashions changed, these works were dismantled and more often than not lost. The two presented here, fortunately preserved by the family, are extremely rare.