Antwerp 1920 Olympic Poster

The 1920 Summer Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, were the first to take place after the devastating disruption of World War I (1914-18). Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire were banned from competing in the Games, and Russia chose not to participate.

Walter Van der Ven (1884-1950), an illustrator from Antwerp, created this poster based on a lithograph by his wife, artist Martha Van Kuyck (1881-1978). It bears elements of the Art Nouveau (‘New Art’) style with a discus thrower as the central figure of the image. The athlete’s nudity reflects the ancient Olympic Games and correlates to a famous Neoclassical statue by Dutch sculptor Mathieu Kessels (1784-1836) originally displayed in Brussels.

Apart from Antwerp’s coat of arms, the artists have included in the background a view of the city with its important monuments.