Details

After 1925: Comeback

Fenneker made a mere eight posters for four films in 1925.  While he enjoyed a strong reputation and presence in Berlin's cityscape, Fenneker’s unconventional style raised questions initially among the big distributors, who feared it might not be suitable for the cheerful advertising typically deployed across multiple regions. Their concerns were assuaged as Fenneker quickly demonstrated the breadth of his stylistic palette by adopting a visual language capable of "speaking to the masses": His color palette became friendlier and the opaque backgrounds and the Expressionist angularities gave way to more elegant presentations of figures that draw clearly on fashion illustrations. The long, slim legs on the women in the posters lent then a youthful and style-conscious air, with a somewhat exaggerated roundness to their faces that made them seem prettier, as well as short haircuts, snub noses, red pouting mouths and big, wide eyes. He illustrated comedies in a style reminiscent of comic strips, with reversed size relations and lively, overexcited body language. For more serious subjects, Fenneker's posters took a more pictorial approach, with loose brushstrokes, subdued, interrupted colors and figures staged dramatically to reflect the conflicts explored by the plots.