PLINIO CODOGNATO (1878-1940) CICLI FIAT. Circa 1910.77x56¾ inches, 195½x144 cm. Chappuis, Bologna.Condition B+: overpainting in upper right corner; repaired tears, creases, abrasions and restoration in margins and image and along vertical and horizontal folds; sharp printers' creases in lower image; minor foxing in margins. Two-sheets.After early training as a painter, Codognato dedicated himself to advertising illustration. In 1904, he gained recognition with his design for the Verona Horse Fair and for the next 35 years he designed 150 posters. His style ranged from humorous images, comparable to works by Cappiello and Mauzan, to near-Futurist images of speeding cars and majestic automobiles. He was also closely associated with Fiat, for whom he designed a number of impressive images. This exceptional allegory is open to interpretation, but can be understood as showing Mercury attaching his own wings to a bicycle. Aside from its meaning, it is an extremely rare image, and a magnificent example of the realistic way that Italian graphic designers could combine classical allegories into contemporary advertising. Manifesto 83.