Son of a merchant of
Dalmatian origins (the family name was originally Metlicovich), he began working in the family business at a very young age and at fourteen years old he entered as an apprentice in a printing house in
Udine, where he learned the technique of
lithography. Here he is noticed by
Giulio Ricordi, owner of the
homonymous musical house and of the Officine Grafiche, who invites him to move to
Milan to complete his training.[1]
From 1888 to 1892 he collaborated with
Tensi, a photographic products company, and in 1892 he joined
Ricordi as technical director.[2] At first he practiced transposing the works of other famous poster artists such as Hohenstein and Mataloni onto
lithographic stone, then his pictorial talent was increasingly appreciated and he began creating posters and illustrations for Ricordi's music editions. Many of the works of the most famous composers of the time are advertised on posters signed by Metlicovitz: from those of
Giacomo Puccini such as Tosca (1900), Madama Butterfly (1904) and Turandot (1926) to Iris by
Pietro Mascagni (1898), to Conchita by
Riccardo Zandonai (1911).[3]
At the end of the nineteenth century, the
Grandi Magazzini Mele of
Naples entrusted Officine Ricordi with their own advertising campaign for their clothing, one of the first on a large scale, and the artifices of success were the posters created by Metlicovitz together with
Aleardo Terzi, Dudovich, Cappiello and others.[4]
In 1906, on the occasion of the great
Universal Exhibition in
Milan, Metlicovitz won the competition for the poster that symbolized the fair, dedicated to the
Simplon Tunnel, making a name for himself as a poster designer. There are dozens of magazine covers, scores and opera librettos published by Ricordi, which bear his signature including the magazines Music and Musicians (1902-1905) and Ars et Labor (1906-1912), his work as an illustrator also appears on La Lettura (1906-1907, 1909) monthly in Corriere della Sera.[5]
Especially from the beginning of the twentieth century, the Officine Grafiche Ricordi began to sell various products that were the fruit of a
merchandising ante-litteram, thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of Giulio Ricordi, and many of them bore the signature of Leopoldo Metlicovitz, such as the
Almanacco Verdiano of 1902 or the series of illustrated postcards on musical themes, such as those for the operas La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly or Germania by
Alberto Franchetti.[6]
Between 1907 and 1910 Metlicovitz, on behalf of Ricordi, went twice to
Buenos Aires; in the meantime he had married
Elvira Lazzaroni, by whom he had two children: Roberto (1908-?) and Leopolda (1912–2008). In 1914 Metlicovitz is also one of the designers, together with
Armando Vassallo,
Luigi Caldanzano and
Adolfo De Carolis, involved in the launch of the film Cabiria, a colossal of silent screenplay by
Gabriele D'Annunzio, for which he will create four posters. He also designed the trademark that is still used today by
Fratelli Branca Distillerie, the producers of
Fernet Branca, depicting an eagle with spread wings holding a bottle of the liqueur above a globe.[7]
After ending his collaboration with Casa Ricordi in 1938, he concentrated more and more on painting, preferring
landscapes and
portraits and participating in the first editions of the
Cremona Prize (1939-1940). On 19 October 1944 he died in his house in Ponte Lambro, where he had moved permanently in 1915.[1]
Laura Mocci, METLICOVITZ, Leopoldo, in Dizionario biografico degli italiani, LXXIV volume, Roma, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2010. URL consultato il 12 May 2013.
Giovanna Ginex, Metlicovitz, Dudovich: grandi cartellonisti triestini: manifesti della Raccolta Achille Bertarelli del Castello Sforzesco di Milano, catalogo mostra, Ginevra-Milano 2001
G. Mori, Le vacanze degli italiani attraverso i Manifesti Storici della Raccolta Bertarelli, catalogo mostra, Cinisello Balsamo 2004