Semaine nationale de l'enfance 1939

This moving 1939 original poster by renowned Italian-French poster artist Leonetto Cappiello was commissioned by the Ministère de la Santé Publique for the Semaine Nationale de l’Enfance (National Children’s Week), held from 15 to 22 May 1939. Designed in the late interwar years, the work reflects both the urgency and idealism of France’s social health campaigns on the eve of WWII.

Rendered entirely in shades of luminous cobalt blue, the central image shows a mother gracefully holding the hands of two small children. The figures are stylized with sculptural elegance, their forms both classical and modern, emphasizing protection, tenderness, and care. The visual message is immediate: the health and future of children lie in nurturing hands.

Cappiello, best known for his exuberant commercial posters of the Belle Époque and Art Deco periods, here adopts a more subdued, yet deeply humanistic tone. The soft contours, limited palette, and dignified composition give the poster a solemn, almost sacred quality, marking a shift in purpose from advertising to public welfare.

Medical - Social - France

Printed by Edimo in Paris

Good condition, creases, small tears on the edges