Vintage Posters | Lorenzaccio | Krause-Mroszczak

Lorenzaccio is a French play of the Romantic period written by Alfred de Musset in 1834, set in 16th-century Florence, and depicting Lorenzino de’ Medici, who killed Florence’s tyrant, Alessandro de’ Medici, his cousin. Having engaged in debaucheries to gain the Duke’s confidence, he loses the trust of Florence‘s citizens, thus earning the insulting surname “Lorenzaccio”. This poster was collaborative effort by Andrzej Krauze and Josef Mroszczak. The poster creator Andrzej Krauze (b.1947) is a Polish graphic artist and illustrator, known mainly for his satirical drawings. His achievements include many film and theater posters and book illustrations and is the author of several children’s books. In 1966, he began studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He first studied at the Faculty of Painting, then chose graphic design, where he studied under Henryk Tomaszewski.  In 1979 he left Poland for the UK. He has also published in British media such as The Times, the Observer, and The Guardian.

The poster artist Jozef Mroszczak (1910–1975) was a Polish graphic designer. Mroszczak was one of the founders of Katowice’s Free School of Painting and Drawing, where he ran a graphic arts studio in the years 1937–1939. During the German occupation he taught courses on drawing and lettering at the Trade High School in Zakopane and at the Nowy Targ School of Economics. Just after the end of World War II, Mroszczak organized much of the artistic life throughout Silesia, later on he co-founded and assumed the chairmanship of the regional office of the Polish Artists’ Association (ZPAP). From 1947 to 1953, he lectured at the Katowice School of Art, which was later transformed into the Second Faculty of Graphic Art at Kraków’s Academy of Fine Arts. Mroszczak moved to Warsaw in 1952 and obtained the post of creative director at the publishing house Wydawnictwo Artystyczno-Graficzne (1952–1956) and a lectureship at the city’s Academy of Fine Arts. He was Chair of Graphic Design from 1957 to 1960, and Dean of the School of Graphic Arts from 1968 to 1971. Mroszczak was representative of the Polish School of Posters. His interests included poster design, the art of exhibition, and functional graphic design. He was Chief Designer of the Polish Industry Exhibition in Moscow in 1959, and in 1961 he co-designed the Polish pavilion at the international work safety exposition “Italia ’61” in Turin.