Framed Vintage Soap Prints
While soap might not the first thing to come to mind as an art subject, framed vintage soap posters are admired by many art enthusiasts. Often the piece is not necessarily about the soap as such, but rather something else associated with the soap, such as cleanliness or some of the herbs used to make a soap’s scent.
Of course soap is used to get clean. A popular choice of imagery for framed vintage soap artwork is a child and a bathtub. The juxtaposition of youth and cleanliness can conjure up feelings of innocence in the viewer, and possibly even fond memories of their own childhood. “Forgotten Pears”, “Pear’s Soap,” and “Lux Soap” are just a few of the examples of this approach. It is also common for such pieces to feature dogs, which are also often associated with innocence.
Soaps sometimes use herbs and flowers to add to their scents, and some framed vintage soap wall art focuses on these herbs and flowers. For example, “Lavon Savon” by Katharine Gracey highlights the lavender used in a particular soap by showing a field of lavender. Susan W. Berman’s “Violette” shows stylized violets amongst its imagery. Placing the emphasis on these flowers and herbs inspires thoughts of freshness and wholesomeness associated with the natural world.
Sometimes the style of the packing or advertisement is the star. One example of this is “Savon Paradisia Gelle Frere,” which features several cherubs floating through the clouds with flowers, promoting a happy, relaxed feeling. By contrast, Jillian Jeffrey’s “Soap Label” focuses on simple patterns and hand-lettered typography, giving the piece an air of refined sophistication.