I’ve opted for the 1981 Final Programme this time because, as far as I’m aware, it’s the only one with a cover signed by an artist – Luigi Castiglioni, a Milanese illustrator and set designer famous in France for his sports posters.
He does these bizarre but really calm and serene painted illustrations. He did a lot of tennis posters, giant tennis balls floating like spaceships, and this cover is like a surrealist painting. Everything is beautifully centred, with the Eiffel Tower rising up as the focal point and footballs circling around it on a giant green planet-like ball. I love the Biba-esque Art Nouveau font for the team names which is similar to the one used in the Paris Métro.
The background is a gradient sunset: yellow to pink to blue. It’s just completely fantastic and vibrant, while the clouds are dreamlike and surreal. They have been flipped at the top, as if the size of the painting that the publishers received from Castiglioni was different to the cover, forcing them to double up on the clouds to extend the image.
I’ve opted for the 1981 Final Programme this time because, as far as I’m aware, it’s the only one with a cover signed by an artist – Luigi Castiglioni, a Milanese illustrator and set designer famous in France for his sports posters.
He does these bizarre but really calm and serene painted illustrations. He did a lot of tennis posters, giant tennis balls floating like spaceships, and this cover is like a surrealist painting. Everything is beautifully centred, with the Eiffel Tower rising up as the focal point and footballs circling around it on a giant green planet-like ball. I love the Biba-esque Art Nouveau font for the team names which is similar to the one used in the Paris Métro.
The background is a gradient sunset: yellow to pink to blue. It’s just completely fantastic and vibrant, while the clouds are dreamlike and surreal. They have been flipped at the top, as if the size of the painting that the publishers received from Castiglioni was different to the cover, forcing them to double up on the clouds to extend the image.
Castiglioni trained in Milan then moved to Rome, where he worked as a set designer on several films including Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. He then went to Paris, where his career really took off illustrating magazine covers and posters. There are some really great ones like his design (below) for a match between France and Italy, with the map of France transformed into a giant cockerel.
His programme cover for the 1981 European Cup final is just so different to all the others. It feels like a Terry Gilliam illustration from Monty Python. “And now for something completely different.” It’s weird. You almost expect a big foot to come down and squash it.
I’ve opted for the 1981 Final Programme this time because, as far as I’m aware, it’s the only one with a cover signed by an artist – Luigi Castiglioni, a Milanese illustrator and set designer famous in France for his sports posters.
He does these bizarre but really calm and serene painted illustrations. He did a lot of tennis posters, giant tennis balls floating like spaceships, and this cover is like a surrealist painting. Everything is beautifully centred, with the Eiffel Tower rising up as the focal point and footballs circling around it on a giant green planet-like ball. I love the Biba-esque Art Nouveau font for the team names which is similar to the one used in the Paris Métro.
The background is a gradient sunset: yellow to pink to blue. It’s just completely fantastic and vibrant, while the clouds are dreamlike and surreal. They have been flipped at the top, as if the size of the painting that the publishers received from Castiglioni was different to the cover, forcing them to double up on the clouds to extend the image.
I’ve opted for the 1981 Final Programme this time because, as far as I’m aware, it’s the only one with a cover signed by an artist – Luigi Castiglioni, a Milanese illustrator and set designer famous in France for his sports posters.
He does these bizarre but really calm and serene painted illustrations. He did a lot of tennis posters, giant tennis balls floating like spaceships, and this cover is like a surrealist painting. Everything is beautifully centred, with the Eiffel Tower rising up as the focal point and footballs circling around it on a giant green planet-like ball. I love the Biba-esque Art Nouveau font for the team names which is similar to the one used in the Paris Métro.
The background is a gradient sunset: yellow to pink to blue. It’s just completely fantastic and vibrant, while the clouds are dreamlike and surreal. They have been flipped at the top, as if the size of the painting that the publishers received from Castiglioni was different to the cover, forcing them to double up on the clouds to extend the image.
I’ve opted for the 1981 Final Programme this time because, as far as I’m aware, it’s the only one with a cover signed by an artist – Luigi Castiglioni, a Milanese illustrator and set designer famous in France for his sports posters.
He does these bizarre but really calm and serene painted illustrations. He did a lot of tennis posters, giant tennis balls floating like spaceships, and this cover is like a surrealist painting. Everything is beautifully centred, with the Eiffel Tower rising up as the focal point and footballs circling around it on a giant green planet-like ball. I love the Biba-esque Art Nouveau font for the team names which is similar to the one used in the Paris Métro.
The background is a gradient sunset: yellow to pink to blue. It’s just completely fantastic and vibrant, while the clouds are dreamlike and surreal. They have been flipped at the top, as if the size of the painting that the publishers received from Castiglioni was different to the cover, forcing them to double up on the clouds to extend the image.
Castiglioni trained in Milan then moved to Rome, where he worked as a set designer on several films including Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. He then went to Paris, where his career really took off illustrating magazine covers and posters. There are some really great ones like his design (below) for a match between France and Italy, with the map of France transformed into a giant cockerel.
His programme cover for the 1981 European Cup final is just so different to all the others. It feels like a Terry Gilliam illustration from Monty Python. “And now for something completely different.” It’s weird. You almost expect a big foot to come down and squash it.
I’ve opted for the 1981 Final Programme this time because, as far as I’m aware, it’s the only one with a cover signed by an artist – Luigi Castiglioni, a Milanese illustrator and set designer famous in France for his sports posters.
He does these bizarre but really calm and serene painted illustrations. He did a lot of tennis posters, giant tennis balls floating like spaceships, and this cover is like a surrealist painting. Everything is beautifully centred, with the Eiffel Tower rising up as the focal point and footballs circling around it on a giant green planet-like ball. I love the Biba-esque Art Nouveau font for the team names which is similar to the one used in the Paris Métro.
The background is a gradient sunset: yellow to pink to blue. It’s just completely fantastic and vibrant, while the clouds are dreamlike and surreal. They have been flipped at the top, as if the size of the painting that the publishers received from Castiglioni was different to the cover, forcing them to double up on the clouds to extend the image.
