Niklaus Stoecklin
The Master of the Object Poster
The Basel artist Niklaus Stoecklin, who was strongly influenced by surrealism, is the undisputed master of the realist/object poster with rational design principles. He is one of the main exponents of the New Objectivity, which amounts to a radicalisation of the stylistic elements used in painting and is characterised by a distinct individual style. Burkhard Mangold was Stoecklin’s first teacher at the Basel vocational school (Gewerbeschule). Stoecklin was seen as a prodigy and his paintings are today classified under “New Objectivity” and “Magical Realism”. He produced highest-quality work and his posters are distinguished by a picturesque, almost poetic representationality.
His objectified poster designs can be compared to those of A.M. Cassandre. Communications specialists, the graphics industry and design museums across the globe agree that since the turn of the 20th century, Switzerland has made an important contribution to the artistic poster, the product poster and the travel poster. With his large poster oeuvre, Stoecklin also played an important role: his painted works and his precise, commercial graphic works, especially for the Basel industry, had a lasting effect on his contemporaries and on the advertising industry in Basel.