Agua De Vilajuiga

Vilajuïga mineral water--Aigua de Vilajuïga--comes from a natural spring in the town of Vilajuïga in north eastern Catalonia. The poster, published around 1912 to advertise the water in Spain, is the work of the brilliant Italian designer Leonetto Cappiello. His boldly coloured designs on a black background used to make a strong impression on passers-by in the streets of Paris, where he worked, as a result of which his posters were much in demand. He emphasizes the product's Spanishness by showing a haughty Spanish nobleman looking down contemptuously on lesser mortals. Vilajuïga water is rich in magnesium and calcium, and, according to this advertisement, in lithium. Lithium carbonate is used as a mind-altering drug, to counteract depression and bipolar disorder (depression alternating with mania). Aigua de Vilajuïga was reputed to be the only water drunk by the surrealist painter Salvador Dali. CC BY 4.0 Image and text obtained through the Wellcome Collection.