Date: 1914 (original, larger sized poster printed in 1899)
Size: 10.25 x 14 inches, Image: 7.1 x 10.5 inches
Artist: Aleardo Villa
About the artist: Aleardo Villa (1865–1906) was an exceptional Italian painter and illustrator whose work embodied the elegance of the Belle Époque.
Trained at Milan’s Brera Academy, he began with traditional painting before rising to prominence as a leading figure of the Art Nouveau (Stile Liberty) style. Renowned for portraying an idealized feminine beauty, he often depicted graceful women draped in flowing fabrics and surrounded by soft, floral elements. Villa also transformed commercial art, creating iconic posters for brands like Mele and producing exquisitely detailed postcards that defined early 20th‑century advertising. Although his life was brief, his artistic legacy endures as a hallmark of an era devoted to harmony, refinement, and aesthetic enchantment.
About this piece: This beautiful poster belongs to the Portfolio "Gli Avvisi delle Officine G. Ricordi e C. Milano" (The Advertisements of the G. Ricordi & Co. Graphics Works, Milan) a famous and rare collection published around 1914, inspired by the famous French publication Les Maîtres de l'Affiche. The complete collection contains 70 color lithographic plates (chromolithographs) in a reduced size format. It represents an extraordinary testament to the golden age of the Italian advertising poster and Art Nouveau (Liberty style) graphics, closely tied to the world of opera and the Ricordi music publishing house.
This extraordinary advertising poster belongs to the celebrated series created for the E. & A. Mele & Ci. department store in Naples. It was originally designed in featuring the slogan "Massimo Buon Mercato" (Maximum Value at Low Prices).
