108 / 242
ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939)
100
●
BISCUITS CHAMPAGNE / LEFÈVRE - UTILE. 1896.
20
1
/
4
x13
3
/
4
inches, 51
1
/
2
x35 cm. F. Champenois, Paris.
Condition B+ / A-: light time-staining at edges; minor restored losses in top margin where there were
originally grommets, affecting border. Matted and framed.
“The most elusive of the many designs Mucha executed for this firm . . . It was meant to be hung as
a display at the point of sale, and came mounted on a board which had two holes at the top reinforced
with metal grommets. As usual with Lèfevre-Utile advertising material, the design is laced with the
initials LU: they are on the wall relief ornament in the background, on the cushion at the blonde
lady’s right elbow, and in the handkerchief on her lap. Mucha’s painstaking craftsmanship may be seen
here in its top form; the convivial scene is animated and every detail is fully executed. The sales message
obviously says that the LU biscuits are proper fare in the highest social circles” (Rennert / Weill p. 88).
Rennert / Weill 17, Lendl p. 69, Brno 77, Mucha Grand Palais 32, Darmstadt 59, Spirit of Art
Nouveau 19b.
[12,000/18,000]