Artist · 15 prints
Adolfo Hohenstein Prints
About Adolfo Hohenstein
Adolfo Hohenstein (1854–1928) was a painter and designer born in Russia to German parents. He studied art in Vienna and in 1879 settled in Milan, where he worked as a set and costume designer for the opera house La Scala. That theatre work brought him into contact with the music publisher Giulio Ricordi. Hohenstein joined Ricordi's printing workshop and became its art director, in charge of posters, libretto covers, scores, playbills and postcards.
Hohenstein is best known for his opera posters, among them Puccini's La Bohème and Tosca, Mascagni's Iris and Verdi's Falstaff, all published by Ricordi. He also designed advertising for Campari and for the Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera, and made sketches of Verdi on his deathbed. His style is refined and theatrical, with Art Nouveau mostly showing in decorative details such as borders and lettering. In later life he moved to Germany and worked mainly as a painter.
Adolfo Hohenstein prints: reproductions of the Italian lithographic posters Adolfo Hohenstein designed in Milan around 1898 to 1901. The collection includes Tosca (1899), Iris (1898), Corriere della Sera, Milano (1898), the poster for the Como celebrations of Volta's battery centenary (1899) and Bitter Campari.
This selection covers the two sides of Hohenstein's poster work: opera posters for La Bohème, Tosca, Iris and Falstaff, and advertising for newspapers, drinks, soap, exhibitions and cooperative societies. Most date from 1898 to 1901, the years when Italian Art Nouveau poster design was taking shape in Milan.
The opera posters suit a music room, study or entrance hall, and the drinks posters work well in a kitchen, dining room or home bar. All prints are museum-quality reproductions, available unframed or framed with acrylic glazing, with free shipping and import duties covered.
