Alphonse Mucha

(Czech, 1860-1939)

Gismonda

, 1894

lithograph

81 1/2 x 27 1/2 inches.

Property from Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, California. Sold to Support the Care of Collections and the Mary Silver Fund for Acquisitions

Literature:

Wagner 67

Provenance:

Mary and Louis Silver French Art Poster Collection

Bequest of Mary Silver, Palm Springs, California

Lot Notes:

This is Mucha's first poster, and the story of its creation is something of a fairy tale. on Christmas Day 1894, the printer Lemercier received a rush order from the Théâtre de la Renaissance; the theater required a poster advertising Sara Bernhardt's revival of the play Gismonda by New Year's Day. With much of the staff away for the holiday, the desperate printer used the only artist available - Mucha, who until then had worked as a book illustrator. When the poster appeared, it became an instant sensation. For Mucha, it meant the beginning of a stellar career, as well as a life-long friendship with Bernhardt and a six-year (rather draconian) contract with the printer Champenois.

Framed: 87 x 33 ½ inches.

Not examined out of frame, appears to linen-backed, surface dirt and uneven toning, multiple areas of creasing and repaired tears, area of restoration approximately 2 inches below figure’s left elbow no longer than 2 inches in length, other areas of fill and restoration mostly concentrated below that point, multiples areas of restoration along the lower edge.

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Prints and Multiples

Gismonda

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