Romeo and Julia

Work on Paper

DePaul Art Museum

Name/Title

Romeo and Julia

Entry/Object ID

2012.108

Description

This is a poster for a theatrical production of Romeo and Juliet. It depicts two white doves, done in screenprint-like technique before brown-gray windowpane. This design reflects the themes of the play.

Artwork Details

Medium

Photomechanical print

Context

In 20th century Poland, posters were used to advertise all sorts of events such as plays, concerts, and exhibitions. Graphic design became an important part of the Polish art scene at the time because of the way it allowed for visual artistic expression, that could be consumed in everyday life. There were restrictions around artistic expression under the People’s Republic of Poland, so artists used lots of symbolism in their works, developing a style unique the medium of posters. Polish artists put the same level of complexity and quality into poster design, as the great European masters would put into an oil painting. Historically, these posters have value and rarity because they were not mass produced and there is a limited quantity. Under the communist government of the 20th century, the resources needed to make posters, like ink and paper were expensive and limited. Therefore, there are only as many copies of a poster as there were buildings where the event would be promoted. Also, between 1810- 1915 the government ran the theaters in Poland and financed the performances. Since this poster was produced for one of those theaters, The Little Theater in Warsaw, this piece has connections to Poland’s past governmental structure and could exemplify the impact of government on the arts.

Acquisition

Notes

Collection of DePaul Art Museum, gift of Martin Rosenberg

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Roslaw Szaybo

Role

Graphic Artist

Manufacturer

The Little Theater

Date made

1981

Place

Country

Poland

Continent

Europe

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Country

Poland

Continent

Europe

Concept

posters, information artifacts, information forms (objects), theater (discipline), theater arts, performing arts (discipline), arts (broad discipline), humanities, disciplines (concept)

Hierarchy Name

Information Forms (hierarchy name), Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Disciplines (hierarchy name)

Facet

Objects Facet, Activities Facet

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Theater programs, Posters

Legacy Lexicon

Class

WORKS ON PAPER

Dimensions

Dimension Description

overall

Width

26 in

Length

37-1/2 in