Racahout des Arabes
Artist
Leonetto Cappiello
Italy, 1875 - 1942
Datec. 1910
MediumOffset Lithograph
Dimensions22 x 18 in. (55.9 x 45.7 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.6561
DescriptionDelangrenier's Racahout des Arabes ("The best food for children") was a popular French concoction recommended for children, invalids, and the elderly that could be consumed as a cereal or a hot drink. The name refers to a Middle Eastern dish called "racahout" made from ground acorns. By the time this poster was produced, the acorns in the traditional mixture had been replaced in such commercial versions by cocoa, reflecting the new power of the cocoa industry in France. The company evidently hired some of the most important designers of the period to produce its advertising. In this version, intended for the Spanish-speaking market (there is also a French-language version of the same poster), Leonetto Cappiello, credited with modernizing advertising during the early 20th century, applies his unconventional sensibility to the subject of infant food. Here Cappiello shows a little girl spoonfeeding her elegantly dressed doll, who sits in a gilded, velvet-upholstered chair.On View
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