A historical sketch

This drawing – on the left-hand page – is the sketch for one of the most famous Art Deco posters. Signed Leonetto Cappiello, it was destined for the Revel company, the flagship of Lyon’s economy from 1851 to 1986.

François Revel (1887-1971), grandson of the founder of the Lyon umbrella company of the same name, was determined to continue the development of the family business.By the beginning of the20th century, the company was expanding its sales to Asia, manufacturing over a million units a year and exporting 98% of its production. François did not neglect the advertising aspect of his company’s reputation. He met one of the most fashionable poster designers of the 1920s : Leonetto Cappiello. The Italian-born artist was in the process of developing his discipline thanks to his graphic, uncluttered and always lively style. When the company director came to meet him in Paris in 1922, Cappiello would have immediately presented him with this sketch with its strong contrasts and innovative angle, even before he knew what he was going to ask him, arguing with joy and pride : “I knew that an umbrella manufacturer would come to see me one day !” This sketch has remained in the Revel family to this day. A larger scale model (160 x 120 cm) was acquired in 1961 by the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon from Mrs. Capiello.It can be seen until March1, 2026 in Nantes as part of the exhibition “Sous la pluie. Peindre, vivre ou rêver”. These three anonymous men, braving the storm with their umbrellas, will reveal their faces in an unpublished gouache commissioned around 1925 by François Revel following the success of the first poster.