“The play Maya went through many revivals over a 30 year period. The production at the Studio des Champs-Élysées had only about 20 performances in 1924, but in 1926 Gaston Baty decided to give the play a second chance and for the occasion he ordered this poster. The play was a success, running for 376 consecutive performances and it was subsequently translated into 17 languages... The composition shown here is one of several done for Maya by Colin and the poster was given much of the credit for the play’s success at the time. One can see why: Colin has perfectly captured the heroine, a streetwalker... The sharp delineation of the progressively disrobed heroine, with the night/day slash, in which Colin actually uses two reds and two blacks, one each for the ‘daytime’ and ‘nighttime’ personality. It is a very strong, effective poster, one of his best and a masterpiece by any standard” (Colin, p. 8). This is the larger format.
Imp. H. Chachoin, Paris
literature: Colin, 22; Colin Affichiste, 9; PAI-LII, 209