''The Swan'', 1956 - art by Ercole Brini
by Movie World Posters
Title
''The Swan'', 1956 - art by Ercole Brini
Artist
Movie World Posters
Medium
Mixed Media - Vintage Movie Poster
Description
A vintage movie poster of ''The Swan'', a 1956 American romantic comedy film directed by Charles Vidor. It is a charming and light-hearted adaptation of the play of the same name by Ferenc Molnár. The film features a talented ensemble cast, including Grace Kelly, Alec Guinness, and Louis Jourdan.
The story of "The Swan" is set in the fictional European kingdom of Carpathia and revolves around the romantic entanglements of Princess Alexandra, played by Grace Kelly. She is a young and beautiful princess who is expected to marry for political reasons rather than love. Her mother, Queen Maria Dominika, played by Jessie Royce Landis, and her tutor, Father Hyacinth, played by Alec Guinness, are eager to see her marry the dashing but somewhat arrogant Crown Prince Albert, played by Louis Jourdan, from a neighboring kingdom.
The plot takes a twist when a charming tutor, Dr. Nicholas Agi, played by Alec Guinness in a dual role, arrives at the palace and becomes the object of Princess Alexandra's affections. This sets off a series of comedic and romantic complications as the characters navigate their feelings and responsibilities.
"The Swan" is a delightful and visually appealing film known for its picturesque European settings and Grace Kelly's elegant performance as the lovestruck princess. The film captures the essence of a fairy tale romance and explores themes of love, duty, and destiny.
While "The Swan" may not be as well-known as some of Grace Kelly's other films, it remains a charming and enjoyable classic that showcases her talent and beauty. The film's elegant costumes and regal settings contribute to its overall appeal.
About the artist:
Ercole Brini (1913, Rome —1989. Rome) is noted for his bright, distinctive, watercolor style of painting portraits and full figures, having painted hundreds of movie posters in Italy. Brini produced many stunning images for the national film industry in Italy, alongside his contemporaries Alfredo Capitani, Luigi Martinati, and Anselmo Ballester.
From "The Bicycle Thief" to "Blow-Up," he added a touch of elegance to his romantic paintings — especially his striking, sophisticated portraits of women. Brini's style is characterized by evocative touches of color, quick brushstrokes, and stains that compose images with nuanced traits.
The colors are not pure, vivid, or pop: they strike the viewer for their half tones, creating a world made of shadings. In Brini's compositions the colors blend together, giving sketched images while maintaining the realism of the protagonists.
Among the most interesting subjects of Ercole Brini's production we certainly find his female portraits. The protagonists of Stromboli, Sunset Boulevard, Anna Karenina or The Velvet Touch take shape through patches of color, extremely bright and transparent. Through layers and glazes, his portraits almost make you think of suggestive watercolors, one of the favorite techniques of the painter along with tempera.
Looking at his movie posters, only apparently executed quickly and easily, the mind immediately flies to the Impressionists, such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, known for their female portraits with pastel colors and bright light effects. Like Renoir, Brini creates detailed and recognizable figures in close-ups, enhanced by white highlights, but he places them against less defined backgrounds. Like the Impressionists, Brini fixes on the canvas the still-image of a film, the impression of a moment, without minutely defining the contours. Leaving an echo.
However, there is another face of Brini that clearly transpires from the style of his artworks, and it does not draw on the world of impressions but on that of reality. In the post-war years, in Italy, neorealist cinema became particularly popular. It was a type of film production that dealt with subjects, stories and problems taken directly from real and everyday life, particularly that of the lower classes, with a preference for non-professional actors.
The period between 1945 and 1955, for Italian cinema a true Golden Age, was however a period of poverty, unemployment and injustice, but also of attempts at reconstruction and hope. Brini absorbed this cultural and social climate, devoted not only to denunciation but also to social commitment, and transposed it into his movie posters.
Search “Brini” to see more of his posters.
Uploaded
September 26th, 2021
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