Peter Pathe - Maria Hagen Vintage Ballet Poster

German poster by Walter Schnackenberg (1880 - 1961). Lithograph, 48.8 x 35.8 in. (124 x 91 cm). A German auction site gives a starting bid of €18000 for one of the original posters. Born in Bad Lauterburg in 1880, Schnackenberg found his vocation as a draughtsman and painter while still very young. Drawing is Schnackenberg's strong point. His lively imagination made him particularly good at caricature. He drew for the celebrated magazines 'Jugend' and 'Simplizissimus'. His themes were theatre and the comic muse. Travelling extensively, Schnackenberg often went to Paris, where he was especially interested in the work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. As a print-maker, Schnackenberg devoted himself mainly to poster art and his most mature work is in this genre. He was also well-known as a designer of stage scenery and costumes. In his poster of the ballet performers Peter Pathe and Maria Hagen (1918) Schnackenberg's remarkable dreamlike design perfectly captured the movement and feeling of the performance.