# Italian Liberty Poster (Ricordi and the Stile Liberty Affiche)

> The Italian form of the Art Nouveau poster, produced largely in Milan around the Ricordi lithographic workshop for opera, department stores, liqueurs and expositions. A single monumental woman or stage figure, drawn in flat colour inside sinuous outlines and framed by floral borders, carries the sale. It differs from general Art Nouveau in being a poster form: one monumental figure, theatrical and commercial subjects (opera, department stores, liqueurs), and flat lithographic colour built to sell. Some later work, such as Dudovich's Mele posters, simplifies the figure.

- Period: 1890–1914
- Where: Southern Europe
- Origin: Milan and Turin, Italy, with the Ricordi workshop in Milan as its centre; other Stile Liberty poster work came from Turin and Livorno. Giulio Ricordi, who ran the Casa Ricordi music publishing firm from 1888 to 1912, moved it into poster printing, with artists and lithographers such as Leopoldo Metlicovitz (technical director from 1892), Adolfo Hohenstein and Marcello Dudovich.
- Branch: Pictorial & machine age
- Also known as: Stile Liberty poster, Stile floreale poster, Ricordi lithographic workshop posters
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/italian-liberty-poster/

## How it works

- Place one large allegorical or theatrical figure at the centre and let it carry the whole message.
- Draw the figure in flat lithographic colour fields bounded by flowing, whiplash outlines.
- Frame the image with floral borders, garlands or a panel edge that holds the composition like a stage.
- Letter the title and brand by hand, integrated into the picture and shaped to its curves.
- Keep the mood theatrical and glamorous, selling opera, fashion or liqueur as spectacle.
- In some later work, flatten and simplify the figure into bolder silhouettes.

## Its design choices

Defining choices make the style, characteristic ones are usual, occasional ones turn up now and then.

### Layout & composition
- [Central symmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/central-symmetry/) (characteristic)
- [Framed panels](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/framed-panels/) (characteristic)
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (characteristic)
- [Organic flow](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/organic-flow/) (occasional)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (defining)
- [Measured density](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/measured-density/) (characteristic)
- [Extreme scale contrast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/) (occasional)

### Typography
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (defining)
- [Ornamented display](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ornamented-display/) (defining)
- [All caps](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/all-caps/) (characteristic)
- [Script](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/script/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (defining)
- [Full polychrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/full-polychrome/) (characteristic)
- [Pastel](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pastel/) (occasional)
- [Jewel & metallic](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/jewel-and-metallic/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (defining)
- [Biomorphic curves](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/biomorphic-curves/) (characteristic)
- [Whiplash line](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/whiplash-line/) (characteristic)
- [Naturalistic depiction](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/naturalistic-depiction/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (characteristic)
- [Grain & noise](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/grain-and-noise/) (occasional)
- [Paper & letterpress bite](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/paper-and-letterpress-bite/) (occasional)

### Ornament
- [Floral & vegetal](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/floral-and-vegetal/) (defining)
- [Borders & frames](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/borders-and-frames/) (characteristic)
- [Abundant decoration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/abundant-decoration/) (occasional)

### Imagery
- [Painterly illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-illustration/) (occasional)
- [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Lithography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/lithography/) (defining)
- [Pen, brush & ink](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/pen-brush-and-ink/) (occasional)

### Tone & intent
- [Romantic & sensual](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/romantic-and-sensual/) (characteristic)
- [Luxurious & glamorous](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/luxurious-and-glamorous/) (characteristic)
- [Nostalgic & retro](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/nostalgic-and-retro/) (occasional)

Avoids: Modular grid, Rectilinear, Grotesque & neo-grotesque, Ornament-free, Straight photography, Monochrome, Rational & objective

Palette: #f1e4c3, #b8382f, #2f5d62, #d9a441, #3b2a4a

Typefaces: Hand-drawn Liberty display lettering integrated into the image, Art Nouveau decorative display capitals (Italian lithographic houses), Hand-drawn script for opera titles and brand names

Known for: Leopoldo Metlicovitz, opera posters for Ricordi (Tosca, 1900; Madama Butterfly, 1904); Leopoldo Metlicovitz, poster for the 1906 Milan Universal Exhibition; Marcello Dudovich, posters for the Mele department store, Naples; Adolfo Hohenstein, Madama Butterfly poster for Ricordi; Giovanni Maria Mataloni, gas lamp poster (1896; Stile Liberty, not Ricordi); Giuseppe Boano, Teatro Regio poster (1898; Stile Liberty, not Ricordi); Leonardo Bistolfi, poster for the 1902 Turin Exposition (Stile Liberty, not Ricordi); Leonetto Cappiello, baths of Livorno poster (1901; Stile Liberty, not Ricordi)

## Where it comes from, and what it’s close to

- Grew out of: [Art Nouveau](https://stylogeny.com/styles/art-nouveau.md) (1890–1910)
- Influenced by: [Belle Époque Lithographic Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/belle-epoque-poster.md) (1866–1914)
- Alike in its design choices: [Bezalel School](https://stylogeny.com/styles/bezalel-school.md) (1906–1929), 73% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Taishō Roman & Lyrical Illustration](https://stylogeny.com/styles/taisho-roman.md) (1910–1940), 72% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Mir iskusstva Book Art](https://stylogeny.com/styles/mir-iskusstva.md) (1898–1927), 70% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Egyptian Cigarette Packaging (Cairo Tobacco Houses)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/egyptian-cigarette-packaging.md) (1871–1970), 69% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Push Pin Style](https://stylogeny.com/styles/push-pin.md) (1954–1980), 65% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Shanghai Modern & Yuefenpai](https://stylogeny.com/styles/shanghai-modern.md) (1910–1949), 63% alike

## Sources

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stile_Liberty
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Ricordi
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldo_Metlicovitz
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcello_Dudovich
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_Hohenstein

---

From Stylogeny (https://stylogeny.com/), an atlas of graphic-design styles by Van Riel Online Services. How it is made: https://stylogeny.com/about/. Cite as: Stylogeny, “Italian Liberty Poster (Ricordi and the Stile Liberty Affiche)”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/italian-liberty-poster/