Vintage Poster Archives
Mauzan Moretti 1921 | Italian Advertising Poster
Mauzan Moretti 1921 | Italian Advertising Poster
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A white elephant strides through a driving rainstorm, draped from neck to tail in a voluminous lemon-yellow waterproof tarpaulin. A turbaned rider sits atop the animal, clutching a small umbrella, while the elephant glances back with a single knowing eye. The image is built on contrast and wit: a near-black ground, diagonal rain streaks in dark charcoal, and the white of the elephant's skin set against the saturated yellow cape. Bold Art Deco block capitals spell COPERTONI IMPERMEABILI beneath a flowing italic script tagline, 'Eterni al sole ed alla piova!', eternal in sun and rain.
Designed in 1921 by Luciano Achille Mauzan (1883–1952) for Ettore Moretti, a Milan-based manufacturer of waterproof tarpaulins and camping goods at Foro Bonaparte 12. Mauzan, French-born and Milan-based from 1905, was among the most prolific commercial illustrators of the Italian inter-war years, working across film posters, brand advertising, and war loan campaigns. The Copertoni Impermeabili design, printed by the MAGA agency of Milano, is among his most-cited works in the auction literature (Mauzan A181; PAI-XXXV, 381), valued for the way it grounds an implausible premise, an elephant fitted for a tarpaulin, in bold graphic logic. The restricted palette and the animal's backward glance give the composition its staying power.
Reproduced from an archival high-resolution source on 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art Paper. The deep black field and sharp lemon yellow reproduce with particular clarity on a smooth matte substrate, preserving the graphic contrast of the original lithograph. A natural choice for anyone drawn to Italian graphic design of the 1920s or the broader history of inter-war commercial art.
