Mermaid of Capri - Carthusia Perfumes - Vintage Advertising Poster by Mario Laboccetta c.1962 - Japanese Unryu Rice Paper Art Print (Unframed) 17 x 22 in

Pacifica Island Art uses an environmentally-friendly Unryu Japanese rice paper made by the Awagami Factory in Tokushima, Japan. Unryu, which translates to 'cloud dragon paper' in Japanese, features long strands of kozo fiber and is made from natural mulberry and hemp fibers using traditional Japanese Washi techniques - ABOUT THE ARTIST - Mario Laboccetta - Mario Laboccetta (1899-1988) Very little is known about Mario Laboccetta as an artist. Collectors' joy, the first editions he illustrated are rare and of great value. Born in Naples, he became famous in Paris, where he worked during the 1920s & 1930s as an illustrator for magazines and above all for a series of precious editions such as Les Fleurs du mal, Éditions Nilsson, 1933. Also famous are the illustrations he made for the Contes d'Hoffmann, L'Édition d'Art Henri Piazza, 1932. Laboccetta starts from nouveau-symbolist graphics, which can be combined with Carlo Farneti or Alberto Martini, but unlike them, symbolist illustrators, Laboccetta turns to the dream. In him there is no adherence to the subject, it is pure motive from which to set free fantasy, which is a prelude to surrealism. The excessive colorism, almost lysergic, refers to the surreal delirium and makes me think of the French artist Clovis de Trouille, although without the morbid aspect. When Laboccetta returned to Italy, after 18 years in France, he first stopped in Milan, where he always worked as an illustrator and probably for the theater. Then he will end up in Capri, where he will die in 1988. The latest works, dated to the 1970s, look a lot like stage sets and are similar to Eugene Berman's classic surrealism. He also worked as a decorator for Carthusia, the Capri perfume brand of which he created the symbol. Surely there are still many works around, billboards, illustrations for books, maybe even works as a decorator. An artist who must be rediscovered.