Skip to main content

Emil Cardinaux Art

Swiss, 1877-1936

Swiss painter and illustrator Emil Cardinaux was a pioneer of poster design, credited with creating the world’s first modern tourism poster in 1908. Characterized by his use of muted colors and simple yet powerful imagery, Cardinaux’s designs of more than 130 posters captured the world’s attention during the early 20th century and remain highly coveted by art dealers and collectors today. 

Born in 1877, Cardinaux was encouraged by his parents to study law at the University of Bern before he turned his attention toward art, taking drawing lessons at the Berner Kunstschule under artist Paul Volmar. In 1898, he moved to Munich to continue his art studies, attending the Akademie der Bildenden Künste München as a student of painter Franz von Stuck.

Following his studies, Cardinaux traveled extensively throughout France, Italy and the Netherlands before returning to Bern in 1903 to focus on landscape painting.

In 1908, Cardinaux was commissioned by the Swiss government to design a promotional poster depicting the country’s famous Matterhorn mountain and Zermatt ski area. Inspired by the stark, symbolist paintings and prints of Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler, Cardinaux captured the mountain peak in its simplest form, overlooking a shadow-soaked valley.

Cardinaux’s streamlined Jugendstil style was a signature of many of his lithographic posters and landscape prints. He also designed materials for companies, including Tobler Schokolade (makers of Toblerone), the Bern truck factory and Bally shoes.

Throughout his career, Cardinaux created an extensive array of works, such as book illustrations, mono-card designs, printed material, landscape paintings and caricature drawings. However, his iconic posters are most sought after by Art Nouveau and Art Deco collectors and aficionados.

On 1stDibs, find a range of Emil Cardinaux prints and paintings.

to
1
4
3
7
6
4
2
1928 Original Jungfrau Railway poster, created by Émile Cardinaux
By Emile Cardinaux
Located in PARIS, FR
The original Jungfrau Railway poster, created by Swiss artist Émile Cardinaux in 1928, is a masterpiece of Swiss design. Cardinaux, who was born in Swi...
Category

1920s Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Linen, Lithograph, Paper

Original Antique Winter Travel Poster Palace Hotel St Moritz Switzerland
By Emile Cardinaux
Located in London, GB
Original antique winter travel poster for the Palace Hotel St. Moritz Switzerland featuring a stunning design by the notable Swiss artist Emil Cardinaux (1877-1936) depicting a group...
Category

1920s Swiss Art Deco Vintage Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Paper

Original Jungfrau Railway Bernese Oberland vintage 1913 poster
By Emile Cardinaux
Located in Spokane, WA
The original vintage poster by Emil Cardinaux for the Jungfrau Railway in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, is a classic example of early 20th-century travel advertising. Emil Cardi...
Category

1910s Art Nouveau Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Lithograph

Emil Cardinaux (1877-1936) - Fine Framed 1931 Oil, The Train Tracks
By Emile Cardinaux
Located in Corsham, GB
Delighted to present a very fine landscape study by the Swiss painter Emil Cardinaux. Known for his wonderful tourist posters and graphic designs, this unusual study still reflects h...
Category

20th Century Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Oil

Chemin De Fer Rhetique
By Emile Cardinaux
Located in New York, NY
Chemin De Fer Rhetique, Grisons, Suisse. Chateau De Tarasp. 1913. Color lithograph Cardinaux created an extensive work of different media, he illu...
Category

1910s Art Deco Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Lithograph

Jungfubahn
By Emile Cardinaux
Located in New York, NY
Cardinaux, Emil. Jungfubahn 1928. Color lithograph. 50 1/4 x 35 1/2" [large format]. Cardinaux’s posters were very influential on the way Switzerland saw and represented itself in...
Category

1920s Art Deco Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Lithograph

Original Vintage Poster Teppichhaus Schuster St Gallen & Zurich Orient Carpets
By Emile Cardinaux
Located in London, GB
Original vintage carpet advertising poster for Teppichhaus Schuster & Co St Gallen & Zurich Switzerland featuring an Oriental style design depicting a lady playing music on a stringed instrument and a man reclining...
Category

1920s Swiss Vintage Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Paper

Related Items
Mid-20th Century Oil on Board Abstract Impressionist Maritime Scene, René Genis
By René Genis
Located in Berlin, MD
Step into the bustling energy of a portside moment with René Genis’ “Les Grues” (The Cranes)”, a captivating oil-on-mat-board painting that transforms the in...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Impressionist Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Oil, Illustration Board

Abstract Modernist Oil Painting - noted Penn State Area Artist Ralph Dorn Hetzel
Located in Baltimore, MD
The name “Hetzel” has long been associated with Pennsylvania history. George Hetzel (1826-1899) was a French-born American painter who settled near Pitts...
Category

1970s Abstract Geometric Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Oil

'Agay, le château et le Sémaphore'. Oil on canvas. Signed.
By Armand Guillaumin
Located in Paris, FR
'Agay, le château et le Sémaphore'. Oil on canvas. +/- 1922 Signed lower right Measurements : 60 x 73 cm. This painting will be recorded in the second volume of the Catalogue Raisonn...
Category

1920s Impressionist Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Oil

Yellow-breasted Rail Bird: Original 19th C. Audubon Hand-colored Lithograph
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original 1st octavo edition John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "yellow-breasted Rail, Adult Male in Spring", No. 62, Plate 307, from Audubon's "Birds of America". It was lithographed, printed and colored by J. T. Bowen and published in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1841. It depicts an adult male yellow-breasted Rail bird on the left standing on a rock on the bank of a body of water, looking to the right, perhaps at something in the water or on an island on the right with trees. The landscape surrounding the bird is striking. This original 1st octavo edition hand-colored Audubon lithograph...
Category

Late 19th Century Naturalistic Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Lithograph

Original Vintage Swiss Travel Poster, Interlaken, Mountains and Ski, 1950
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Original Vintage Poster-Suisse-Interlaken-Montagne-Ski, c.1950 Poster to promote tourism in the city of Interlaken during the summer period (April to October). Additional detai...
Category

20th Century Swiss Mid-Century Modern Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Paper

Original Restored SNCF French Rail Travel Poster, Provence c.1957
Located in San Francisco, CA
ABOUT Original vintage railway travel poster for France Provence exhibited in the streets of France to promote travel to that region. Issued by the state owned French national railw...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Linen, Paper

Original "C'est un Hurricane" vintage bicycle pin-up style poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Original Hurricane Bicycle vintage poster. Archivally linen backed in mint condition 72-year-old poster, ready to frame. This is an original mid-century modern vintage Hurricane...
Category

1950s Art Deco Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Lithograph

"CONGREGATION OF WITS: BOX SET", 41 silkscreen prints, double-sided, custom box
By Andrew Cornell Robinson
Located in Toronto, Ontario
"CONGREGATION OF WITS, Box Set of 41 Prints", 2018, limited-edition collection of 40 double-sided silkscreen prints, plus one title print, by Andrew Cornell Robinson. There are 10 box sets in custom-made chocolate linen archival boxes with a gold stamped title. Each print is signed, stamped and editioned. The prints measure 17x17", the box 17.5x17.5". Note the double-sided printing – surfaces of text, surfaces of image. The installation (see photos above) is a striking performance in itself with myriad possibilities for color, pattern, language, culture, politics, identity. The artist is pleased to offer guidance on the installation, according to the collector's wishes. Or a collector may arrange personally. It's a dynamic body of work that delights in the craft of making and the experience of revealing a tapestry of image and language. Initially inspired by a visit to the Talking Sculptures...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Paper, Archival Paper, Color, Screen, Linen

Mango Hummingbirds: An Original 19th C. Audubon Hand-colored Bird Lithograph
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Mango Humming bird, 1. 2. Males. 3. Female. Bignonia grandifolia", No. 51, Plate 251 from Audubon's "Birds of America, lithographed, printed and colored by JT Bowen and published in Philadelphia between 1870-1871. The lithograph depicts an adult male hummingbird, labelled 1, in flight above a beautiful flowering plant, a Chinese Trumpet-vine. Another male, labeled 2, is perched on a flower on the left and a female, labelled 3, is perched on a flower on the right. This hand-colored Audubon bird octavo-size lithograph sheet measures 10.25" high by 6.75" wide. It is in excellent condition. The original text pages, 185-186, from Audubon's 19th century publication are included. John James Audubon (1785-1851) was a naturalist and artist. He was initially unsuccessful financially prior to the publication of his famous work “The Birds of America”, spending time in debtor’s prison, once stabbing a disgruntled investor in self-defense. However, his obsession with birds and art motivated him to persist in his goal of documenting every bird in America via his watercolor paintings and publishing his works for all to enjoy. Audubon's first illustrations were published in a large elephant folio size. Due to their expense they were purchased in rather small numbers by the wealthy. To reach a larger audience, Audubon, with the help of his sons and J. T. Bowen, published a smaller octavo sized lithograph version, which were much more affordable. With the success of his bird projects, Audubon then turned his attention to four-legged animals. He explored the Missouri River in 1843 sketching the four-legged animals he encountered in their natural setting. His expedition covered some of the same regions recently explored by Lewis and Clark, traveling from present day Alaska to Mexico. Audubon realized that this was an opportunity to document these animals in the still relatively pristine American wilderness, before man encroached on their environment. Between 1845 and 1848, Audubon and his sons John Woodhouse Audubon...
Category

Late 19th Century Naturalistic Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Lithograph

Night Heron Birds: An Original 19th C. Audubon Hand-colored Bird Lithograph
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored lithograph entitled "Yellow Crowned Night Heron, 1. Adult Male Spring Plumage, 2. Young in October", No. 73, Plate 364 from Audubo...
Category

Late 19th Century Naturalistic Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Lithograph

Romare Bearden, Dreams of Exile (Green Snake), 1971, by African-American, signed
By Romare Bearden
Located in New York, NY
A North Carolina native, the African-American Romare Bearden spent most of his career in New York City. For several decades he was a social worker in Harlem. But of course he traveled widely, read and studied with great care, and created a phenomenal body of work. This 1971 lithograph is a good example of his oeuvre -- far reaching though it may be. It speaks to his skill and knowledge of contemporary printmaking while featuring a complex subject representative of his interests. A lush jungles is packed with flora and fauna. 'Green Snake' is part of the title and there is a particularly winsome reptile showing up so well on the sand-colored border between the dense forest and the aquamarine water. There are of course many other land and sea animals showing themselves -- even a curious ginger cat...
Category

1970s Contemporary Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Lithograph

Beatles Yellow Submarine Pop Art Poster, Peter Max
By Peter Max
Located in London, GB
Beatles Yellow Submarine Movie poster after Peter Max Peter Max is a German-American artist known for his colourful, psychedelic pop art, whi...
Category

1960s Contemporary Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Lithograph, Linen

Previously Available Items
Circa 1925 Original poster made by Emil Cardinaux - Zermatt Switzerland
By Emile Cardinaux
Located in PARIS, FR
Original poster made by Emil Cardinaux 🇨🇭 (1877-1936), one of the most important founders of the poster in Switzerland. In 1908, he was commissioned by the Swiss government to cre...
Category

1920s Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Linen, Paper, Lithograph

Original Vintage Poster Schweizerische Bundesbahnen Swiss Federal Railway Travel
By Emile Cardinaux
Located in London, GB
Original vintage railway travel advertising poster for Swiss Federal Railways / Schweizerische Bundesbahnen - featuring stunning artwork by Emil Cardinaux (1877-1936) depicting a scenic view of a red electric train...
Category

1920s Swiss Vintage Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Paper

Rare Original Antique Winter Sport Ski Travel Poster for St. Moritz Switzerland
By Emile Cardinaux
Located in London, GB
Rare original antique winter sport travel poster for St. Moritz in Switzerland, one of the early and most sought after winter sports posters, featuring ...
Category

1910s Swiss Vintage Emil Cardinaux Art

Materials

Paper

Emil Cardinaux art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Emil Cardinaux art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Emil Cardinaux in lithograph, paper, fabric and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Art Deco style. Not every interior allows for large Emil Cardinaux art, so small editions measuring 26 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Charles Turzak, Leonardo Brunelleschi, and Georges Lepape. Emil Cardinaux art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $6,500 and tops out at $11,125, while the average work can sell for $6,813.

Recently Viewed

View All