Twentieth Century

Such is the evocative power of some words, some names, some brands that they belong so much to a specific time; that merely to mention them is enough to instantly relive the entire flavor of an era. The diesel era is no exception to the rule. Philip Marlow, Lucky Strike, Streamline, noir... to each his own icons. The list is endless. Sometimes, it is just about the way things are named. Has the word “modern” actually been used before the early twentieth century? Not so much, anyway, as during those roaring decades when (almost) everything and everyone was “modern.”
Undoubtedly with its signs of stainless enthusiasm, self-confidence and faith in the future, the first half of the last century repeatedly celebrated its most emblematic, prestigious things. The first thing that comes to mind, of course, is “Twentieth Century Fox,” but there is also the 1934 Howard Hawks film Twentieth Century and the magnificent “Twentieth Century Limited” express train. I am sure that there are many more.
The above picture is an attempt to relive the spirit of a time in which everything looked better; when things were “thought big” but without ever neglecting the aesthetism and style of them. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the Twentieth Century Airlines, the most glorious airlines company to have ever graced the skies of the Metropole!
Anyone into writing or graphic work knows that some chapters and some pictures sort of “come to life” all by themselves. You just “channel” them, you are the medium, not them. This one simply refused my usual use of vivid, saturated colors, as though it wanted to stick to the nostagic, muted tones reminiscent of an era during which black-and-white was the standard.