Brasserie Vandenkerckhoven

Few beer advertisements wink at the viewer quite so literally. In this poster by O.K. Gérard for Brasserie Vandenkerckhoven of Brussels, a bald, rosy-nosed character with a sly, closed-eye grin rises from a horseshoe of towering, foam-capped glasses. A serrated cream disc frames his head like a sunburst. The polka-dot bow tie and painted cheeks give him the air of a music-hall clown who has found his true calling at the café table. Printed in Paris by Léon Verger, whose 'Création' imprint signals that the house supplied design as well as printing, the poster embodies interwar Franco-Belgian advertising at its most playful. Bold green Art Deco capitals spell out the brewery name across the base. Above, the brewery promotes its two signature products, a Spéciale and a Gueuse, the tart blended lambic that remains one of the great beers of the Brussels region. The checkerboard of chocolate brown and black, the rhythmic repetition of amber glasses and the caricatural modeling of the face show how breweries of the era sold personality as much as product. A standout piece for collectors of Belgian breweriana and Art Deco advertising.Size: 24.25" x 18.25"Artist: O.K. GérardCondition: Very Good, Age-appropriate wear, fading and toning. Conservation mounted on linen. Please use the photo zoom feature to get a better understanding of overall condition. *Additional photos available upon request.