Leonetto CAPPIELLO (1875-1942) - Lot 10

Leonetto CAPPIELLO (1875-1942) Torrilhon tires, 1906 Mixed media. Mounted on canvas. Signed lower right. (Good condition). 144 x 95.5 cm Bibliography : Rennert, p. 93, no. 104. For some reason, the rubber industry (Michelin, Bergougnan and Torrilhon) was concentrated in Clermont-Ferrand at the end of the 19th century(1). Although Michelin, with the ingenious invention of the Michelin Man, triumphed in the end, it was a hard-fought battle... Torrilhon called on Cappiello: for his rubber shoes, in which he used a frog, and the same year for his tires, in which he used a devil - a recurring character in his advertising universe, first appearing in 1905 for Anis infernal and triumphing, this time in green, for Quina Maurin. It's a powerful image that the passer-by can't escape, and a simple message: not even the devil can attack a Torrilhon tire. (1) See Alain Weill, L'Auvergne en affiches, Ed. Page centrale, 2016, p. 26 ff.