# Polish Poster School

> A painterly, metaphorical poster culture that flourished in communist Poland, chiefly for film, theatre, opera and circus. Working for state publishers, free of commercial pressure but under censorship, designers such as Henryk Tomaszewski, Jan Lenica and Roman Cieślewicz replaced star photographs with a single witty or unsettling visual idea, painted or collaged by hand and lettered in the artist's own handwriting.

- Period: 1950–1990
- Where: Eastern Europe
- Origin: Warsaw, Poland (Academy of Fine Arts; state film and art publishers)
- Branch: Pictorial & machine age
- Also known as: Polish School of Posters, Polska Szkoła Plakatu
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/polish-poster-school/

## How it works

- Condense the whole film or play into one visual metaphor rather than illustrating a scene or showing its stars.
- Paint, draw or collage the image by hand and let the brushwork and the artist's handwriting stay visible.
- Letter the title by hand as part of the picture, in a casual, painterly or cut-paper style.
- Use surreal juxtaposition, distortion and dark humour to say what could not be said directly.
- Keep text to a minimum (title, names and venue) and place it wherever the image allows.

## Its design choices

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

### Layout & composition
- [Isolated object](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/isolated-object/) (characteristic)
- [Collage & layering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/collage-and-layering/) (characteristic)
- [Dynamic asymmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dynamic-asymmetry/) (characteristic)
- [Full bleed](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/full-bleed/) (characteristic)

### Space & hierarchy
- [Single focal point](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/single-focal-point/) (defining)
- [Visual tension](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/visual-tension/) (occasional)
- [Extreme scale contrast](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/extreme-scale-contrast/) (occasional)

### Typography
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (defining)
- [Experimental & distorted](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/experimental-and-distorted/) (occasional)
- [Rotated & vertical setting](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rotated-and-vertical-setting/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Limited spot colours](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/) (characteristic)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (characteristic)
- [Complementary clash](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/complementary-clash/) (occasional)
- [Dark ground](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dark-ground/) (occasional)
- [Earth & mineral](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/earth-and-mineral/) (occasional)

### Form & shape
- [Distortion & exaggeration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/distortion-and-exaggeration/) (defining)
- [Stylised figuration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/stylised-figuration/) (characteristic)
- [Biomorphic curves](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/biomorphic-curves/) (occasional)

### Surface & texture
- [Painterly brushwork](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-brushwork/) (defining)
- [Paper & letterpress bite](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/paper-and-letterpress-bite/) (occasional)
- [Halftone & Ben-Day dots](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/halftone-and-ben-day-dots/) (occasional)

### Ornament
- [Ornament-free](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ornament-free/) (characteristic)

### Imagery
- [Painterly illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/painterly-illustration/) (defining)
- [Photomontage](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/photomontage/) (characteristic)
- [Line illustration](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/line-illustration/) (occasional)
- [Treated photography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/treated-photography/) (occasional)

### Medium & production
- [Lithography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/lithography/) (characteristic)
- [Offset printing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/offset-printing/) (characteristic)

### Tone & intent
- [Ironic & self-aware](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ironic-and-self-aware/) (characteristic)
- [Playful & witty](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/playful-and-witty/) (characteristic)
- [Rebellious & subversive](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rebellious-and-subversive/) (characteristic)

Avoids: Straight photography, Naturalistic depiction, Modular grid, Layered information, Grotesque & neo-grotesque, Abundant decoration

Palette: #efe9dc, #1c1c1c, #d4352b, #d6a23a, #2f5d9e, #7b4b2a

Typefaces: Henryk Tomaszewski's casual handwritten capitals, Brush- and crayon-drawn title lettering, Jan Młodożeniec's rounded, cut-paper display letters

Known for: Henryk Tomaszewski; Jan Lenica (Wozzeck, 1964); Roman Cieślewicz (Vertigo / Zawrót głowy, 1963); Franciszek Starowieyski; Waldemar Świerzy (Jimi Hendrix, 1974); Józef Mroszczak and Wojciech Fangor; International Poster Biennale, Warsaw (from 1966) and the Poster Museum at Wilanów (1968)

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

- Grew out of: [Plakatstil / Sachplakat](https://stylogeny.com/styles/plakatstil.md) (1905–1920)
- Influenced by: [Surrealist Graphics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/surrealism.md) (1924–1960)
- Led to: [Cuban Revolutionary Poster (OSPAAAL & ICAIC)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/cuban-poster.md) (1960–1990)
- Led to: [Iranian Modernist Graphic Design](https://stylogeny.com/styles/persian-modernism.md) (1960–present)
- Led to: [Grapus (French Militant Graphic Collective)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/grapus.md) (1970–1990)
- Alike in its design choices: [Zagreb School of Animated Film](https://stylogeny.com/styles/zagreb-animation.md) (1954–1980), 65% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Natural Wine Label Art](https://stylogeny.com/styles/natural-wine-label.md) (2007–present), 61% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Belle Époque Lithographic Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/belle-epoque-poster.md) (1866–1914), 60% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [French Post-War Visual-Gag Poster (Savignac, Villemot, Morvan)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/french-gag-poster.md) (1948–1979), 60% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [UPA & Cartoon Modern](https://stylogeny.com/styles/upa-cartoon-modern.md) (1944–1960), 59% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Atelier Populaire (May '68 Screenprint Poster)](https://stylogeny.com/styles/atelier-populaire.md) (1968), 58% alike

## Real works

- [Ksiądz Marek (Father Mark)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1314186/): Roman Cieślewicz, 1963, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (S.605-2015)
- [Nosorożec (Rhinoceros)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1314693/): Henryk Tomaszewski, 1961, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (S.781-2015)
- [Jajko (The Egg)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O551514/): Jan Lenica, 1957 (premiere January 1958), Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.1433-1979)
- [Mątwa (The Cuttlefish)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O693480/): Waldemar Świerzy, c. 1965, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (E.416-1967)
- [Don Giovanni](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1313798/): Franciszek Starowieyski, 1976, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (S.568-2015)

## Sources

- Philip B. Meggs & Alston W. Purvis, Meggs' History of Graphic Design
- Culture.pl, articles on the Polish School of Posters (culture.pl)
- Muzeum Plakatu w Wilanowie (Poster Museum at Wilanów, National Museum in Warsaw)

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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, “Polish Poster School”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/polish-poster-school/