Rafael Sanchis Arcis’s Valencia, gran feria del 20 al 31 de Julio 1893 announces eleven summer days of festivity through a densely packed combination of spectacle, ornament and emphatic lettering. The city’s name dominates the upper centre, crowned and enclosed by foliage, while lanterns, costumed crowds, fruit, architecture and scenes from the bullring unfold below. Warm scarlet, burnt orange and earthy brown give the poster its immediate force, relieved by touches of green, cream and blue.

Created in 1893, the design belongs to the flourishing late nineteenth-century culture of promotional posters, when public announcements increasingly combined practical information with ambitious pictorial display. Rather than presenting Valencia as a single, literal panorama, Sanchis Arcis assembles a visual inventory of the fair: entertainment, local produce, civic identity and communal ceremony. The result is both advertisement and portrait of place, shaped by the decorative confidence associated with Belle Époque publicity.

A closer look

The composition begins with the bold word “VALENCIA”, its scale establishing an unmistakable graphic hierarchy. A crown rises above the lettering, while leaves and patterned borders soften its monumental character. Nearby, a group of colourful lanterns introduces a lighter, more playful rhythm. The tall format allows these elements to cascade down the page, drawing the eye from the principal announcement—“Gran Feria del 20 al 31 de Julio”—towards the individual attractions gathered beneath it.

In the middle and lower sections, the poster becomes increasingly theatrical. On the left, figures in traditional costume form a bustling crowd, their clothing picked out with intricate pattern and bright accents. Tents and temporary structures suggest the fairground itself, while deeper layers of buildings and decoration create a compressed sense of the city alive with activity. Sanchis Arcis balances these small narrative episodes with broad areas of flat colour, ensuring that the poster remains legible and energetic despite its wealth of detail.

At central right, a bull and matadors accompany the prominently advertised “Cuatro Grandes Corridas de Toros de Muerte”. The scene is rendered as one component within a wider programme rather than as an isolated sporting subject. Elsewhere, oranges and grapes cluster in the lower left, bringing agricultural abundance into the design, while a view of Valencian architecture at lower right anchors the festivities geographically. The cooler greens of foliage and blue notes in the distance interrupt the prevailing heat of the reds and oranges, adding depth to an otherwise tightly layered arrangement.

Context and significance

Posters of this period had to work at several distances: commanding attention in the street, conveying dates and attractions, and rewarding closer inspection. This design meets each demand through a careful alternation of oversized type, decorative framing and miniature incident. Its asymmetry keeps the eye moving, yet the enclosing floral and geometric border holds the crowded programme together. Even the artist’s abbreviated signature, “R. Sanchis A.”, is incorporated discreetly at the lower left.

The fair is presented not merely as an event but as an expression of Valencia itself. Civic emblems, festive illumination, public performance, produce and architecture all contribute to that identity. More than a century later, the poster remains compelling for precisely this abundance: it preserves the persuasive language of nineteenth-century publicity while offering a richly detailed glimpse of how a city chose to advertise its summer celebrations.

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.

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The model in the listing images is holding the 36x14in (90x35cm) version of this art print.

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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.