Lot 403: Napoleon.

Napoleon.
HANS NEUMANN (1888-1960)
Atelier Hans Neumann, Wien
Cond B/Restored tears at folds.
Certainly, Napoleon I wasn't the tallest emperor to ever make a long-standing impact on history and pop culture, but he certainly wasn't smaller than his own bicorne. Nor did he sport a moustache for that matter. We can't specifically identify the personage being caricatured by Neumann-the establishment's owner perhaps, someone with a reputation for being a tippling little dictator-but the artist's poster for the nightclub in Vienna's Sixteenth District definitely sets a tone, implying that the destination was short on space, but big on fun-including music to accompany the revelry provided by the Maxim Meister-Quartett. Neumann started creating posters in Vienna in 1913 and eventually opened one of the largest poster and graphic studios in that city. He was forced to flee in 1938 and went first to London and then to Melbourne, Australia where he set up a new graphic studio. He died on a return trip to Vienna in 1960. Best not to go back.

37 3/8 x 49 3/4 in./95 x 126.4 cm