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ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939)
103
●
SARAH BERNHARDT / [LA PLUME.] 1896.
29
1
/
8
x22
1
/
4
inches, 74x56
1
/
2
cm. F. Champenois, Paris.
Condition B+: staining and mat staining in margins, some affecting image; minor creases, tears and
abrasions at edges. Matted and framed.
At the end of 1896,
La Plume
decided to publish an article on Sarah Bernhardt (which came out in
the very first issue of 1897). To promote the event, they asked her favorite artist to design a poster.
The result is a textbook Art Nouveau image by Mucha, in which he combines his favorite decorative
elements: a halo, stars, byzantine motifs, overgrown stylized hair and flowers (in this case the tiara of
lilies Bernhardt wore in one of her most successful plays,
Princess Lointaine
). “The L’Edition d’Art
department of
La Plume
offered this design for sale with no text in the lower left corner” (Rennert /
Weill p. 112). Rennert / Weill 21 (var 2), Lendl p. 48, Brno 22 (var), Mucha Grand Palais 19,
Darmstadt 27, Mucha / Henderson 65 (var), Mucha / Posters and Photographs 23 (var), Mucha /
Bridges A16b, Triumph des Jugendstils 9 (var), Art Nouveau p. 112 (var), Spirit of Art Nouveau p.
147, DFP-II 636, Abdy p. 141 (var).
[4,000/6,000]