Italian artist Leonetto Cappiello (1875 – 1942), originally a caricaturist, created his distinctive “Absinthe” posters to advertise the now banned alcoholic beverage. As a result of the poster creation techniques which he created, Cappiello’s work has been an inspiration to many other lithographers and made him Europe’s most acclaimed artist of the early 20th century. A brilliant advertiser and artist, Cappiello, created nearly 1,000 posters whose boldly colors feature joyful, anonymous characters in simply and effectively focusing attention on the product being sold.