Le Grand Siècle de l’Affiche · The Masters
Chocolat Klaus — Leonetto Cappiello, 1903
Leonetto Cappiello · French advertising poster, Chocolat Klaus, 1903
What it is
Cappiello’s advertisement for Chocolat Klaus — a green horse rearing under a rider in flowing pink, no product shot anywhere on the sheet.
Why it matters
Cappiello is often credited with inventing the modern advertising poster’s central trick: a single outrageous image, memorable with no text at all.
What to notice
The green horse against a plain dark ground — nothing else competes for the eye.
An advertisement that forgot to look like one.
Provenance
- School
- Belle Époque — the Affiche (France)
- Designer
- Leonetto Cappiello
- Format
- Advertising poster
- Poster published
- French advertising poster, Chocolat Klaus, 1903
- Source
- Library of Congress (via Wikimedia Commons mirror)
Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the poster’s own publication year. Cleared by registry on 2026-07-17.
Format
The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.
Sized to protect print quality — this scan supports sizes up to 40x60" cleanly.
Size
$29.00
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