Willem Battaille’s Champinus, Apéritif au Quinquina, dated 1897, turns the enjoyment of an aperitif into a scene of expansive good humour. A bearded man raises a glass of deep red liquid, his animated smile supplying the advertisement with its persuasive centre. He is balanced by the bottle and emphatic lettering to the left, while a green-to-beige ground allows the reds, golds and crisp highlights to carry unusual force. The result is at once convivial and carefully controlled: a product display enlivened by character, colour and theatrical gesture.

The poster belongs to a period when illustrated advertising was becoming an increasingly prominent part of European urban life. Commercial posters had to communicate quickly in streets, cafés and shop windows, yet the most effective examples did more than announce a name. Battaille, a Belgian artist, gives Champinus an entire social atmosphere, presenting the quinquina aperitif as polished, pleasurable and distinctly sociable. Quinquina drinks were flavoured with cinchona bark, the source of quinine, whose bitterness lent itself to the appetite-stimulating beverages popular in late nineteenth-century Europe.

A closer look

The design is built around an asymmetrical exchange between words and figure. Across the upper left, “CHAMPINUS” appears in large decorative lettering, immediately establishing the brand before the eye moves towards the raised glass. Beneath it, the smaller phrase “Apéritif au Quinquina” clarifies the drink without competing with the principal name. Flourished curves soften the typography and connect its ornamental character to the rounded glass, bottle and smiling face.

Battaille positions the man towards the right, where bright illumination catches his forehead, cheeks and beard. His hand lifts the glass into clearer space, making its ruby-red contents conspicuous against the muted green background. Tiny reflections along the rim give the vessel a convincing lustre, while stronger shadow around the figure’s clothing provides depth. The expression is deliberately broad rather than restrained: this is enjoyment made legible at a distance.

Below, the bottle forms a second, more static focus. Its transparent body and elaborate label contrast with the looser human presence above it; a decorative crown on the label adds a note of distinction. A small dish at the lower right introduces the suggestion of service and refreshment without distracting from the drink itself. Along the lower section, the words “AGENT GÉNÉRAL POUR LA BELGIQUE” shift the design from pictorial seduction back towards practical commercial information. This alternation between bold display type and finer supporting text gives the poster a clear visual hierarchy.

Context and significance

By the 1890s, advances in colour printing and the expansion of mass consumer culture had made the poster a particularly visible meeting point between art and commerce. Designers learned to combine simplified silhouettes, concentrated colour and memorable lettering so that an advertisement could be understood almost instantly. Champinus demonstrates that logic with particular clarity: the brand name, bottle, glass and delighted drinker are separate elements, yet each reinforces the others.

What gives Battaille’s design its enduring visual interest is the balance between graphic directness and closely observed detail. From a distance, it reads as a bold arrangement of red, green and gold; at closer range, reflections, facial modelling, decorative lettering and the intricacy of the bottle label reward attention. It preserves not merely the name of a late nineteenth-century beverage, but the period’s increasingly sophisticated understanding of how appetite, personality and typography could be brought together in a single persuasive composition.

Choosing the right size and finish

Artwork can feel intimate at smaller sizes and dramatically more architectural at larger ones. Use the room preview, model image and size guide to see how the proportions and scale will work in your space.

If you need an exact size, specialist framing or help planning a larger display, ask our workshop for advice.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this art print.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, or one considered visual detail. See examples of personalised artwork.

Choose Original to retain the colour and character of the source artwork, or Aged for a warmer, more antique appearance. See examples of our Aged artwork.

Every piece is produced to archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte art paper. Choose an art print, framed art print or framed canvas using the finish options above.

Framed art prints use crystal-clear optical acrylic for excellent clarity, lower weight and safer delivery than glass. Each piece arrives professionally framed and ready to hang.

Selected artworks can be produced at statement sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). Custom sizing and specialist framing are also available. If the exact option you need is not listed, contact our workshop.

This artwork is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The work is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present an art print without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas art and explore the differences between my different finishes.