# Stenberg Brothers Constructivist Film Poster

> A commercial-cinema subvariant of constructivism: the film posters that Vladimir and Georgii Stenberg made in Moscow from 1924 until Georgii's death in 1933. Where parent constructivism served agitprop and book design, these sheets sold films, using stills and drawn figures pushed through distorted perspective, extreme cropping, exaggerated scale and tilted lettering, so the poster conveys the motion of the screen in bold colour.

- Period: 1924–1933
- Where: Eastern Europe
- Origin: Moscow, USSR: Vladimir and Georgii Stenberg, who made about 300 film posters between 1924 and 1933; the period ends with Georgii's death in 1933
- Branch: Avant-garde
- Also known as: Soviet avant-garde film poster, Stenberg posters, Constructivist cinema poster
- Page: https://stylogeny.com/styles/stenberg-film-poster/

## How it works

- Build the poster from a film's own imagery, assembling stills and drawn figures into one image.
- Crop and enlarge a face or figure until it dominates the sheet and dwarfs the title.
- Distort perspective and tilt or invert figures so the picture appears to move.
- Draw the title lettering by hand, angled and integrated into the image.
- Limit the palette to a few bold, clashing inks and sell the film, not a slogan.

## Its design choices

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

### Layout & composition
- [Diagonal axis](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/diagonal-axis/) (defining)
- [Collage & layering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/collage-and-layering/) (characteristic)
- [Dynamic asymmetry](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/dynamic-asymmetry/) (characteristic)

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

### Typography
- [Hand-lettering](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/hand-lettering/) (defining)
- [Rotated & vertical setting](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rotated-and-vertical-setting/) (characteristic)
- [Type as image](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/type-as-image/) (occasional)
- [All caps](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/all-caps/) (occasional)
- [Eclectic mixing](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/eclectic-mixing/) (occasional)

### Colour
- [Limited spot colours](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/limited-spot-colours/) (characteristic)
- [Complementary clash](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/complementary-clash/) (characteristic)
- [Flat fields](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat-fields/) (characteristic)
- [Full polychrome](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/full-polychrome/) (occasional)

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

### Surface & texture
- [Flat](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/flat/) (characteristic)

### Ornament
- [Ornament-free](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/ornament-free/) (characteristic)
- [Rules & bars](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rules-and-bars/) (occasional)

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

### Medium & production
- [Lithography](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/lithography/) (defining)

### Tone & intent
- [Technological & futurist](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/technological-and-futurist/) (characteristic)
- [Playful & witty](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/playful-and-witty/) (occasional)
- [Rebellious & subversive](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/rebellious-and-subversive/) (occasional)
- [Utopian & idealistic](https://stylogeny.com/design-choices/utopian-and-idealistic/) (occasional)

Avoids: Central symmetry, Classical text block, Floral & vegetal, Abundant decoration, Script, Whiplash line, Calm & contemplative, Nostalgic & retro

Palette: #e8dcc0, #151515, #d62718, #f2b705, #2457a6

Typefaces: Hand-drawn, tilted Cyrillic title lettering integrated with the image, Constructed block capitals in the Soviet avant-garde manner

Known for: Stenberg brothers, poster for Man with a Movie Camera (1929, lithograph); Stenberg brothers, poster for Symphony of a Great City (c. 1928); Stenberg brothers, Kamerny Theatre Paris tour poster (1923, a theatre precursor rather than a film poster)

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

- Grew out of: [Russian Constructivism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/constructivism.md) (1917–1934)
- Influenced by: [Dada](https://stylogeny.com/styles/dada.md) (1916–1924)
- Influenced by: [Suprematism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/suprematism.md) (1915–1925)
- Influenced by: [Italian Futurism](https://stylogeny.com/styles/futurism.md) (1909–1944)
- Alike in its design choices: [Polish Poster School](https://stylogeny.com/styles/polish-poster-school.md) (1950–1990), 63% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Showa Modern Commercial Art and Zuan-moji](https://stylogeny.com/styles/showa-modern-zuan-moji.md) (1925–1940), 59% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Spanish Civil War Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/spanish-civil-war-poster.md) (1936–1939), 59% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Hungarian Revolutionary Poster](https://stylogeny.com/styles/hungarian-activist-poster.md) (1912–1919), 58% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [East German (DDR) Poster and Gebrauchsgrafik](https://stylogeny.com/styles/ddr-poster-design.md) (1946–1990), 57% alike
- Alike in its design choices: [Saul and Elaine Bass Conceptual Film Graphics](https://stylogeny.com/styles/bass-conceptual-film-graphics.md) (1954–1995), 55% alike

## Sources

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenberg_brothers
- https://thecharnelhouse.org/2015/08/05/the-stenberg-brothers-and-the-art-of-soviet-movie-posters/

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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, “Stenberg Brothers Constructivist Film Poster”, https://stylogeny.com/styles/stenberg-film-poster/