Alphonse Mucha 1860–1939 follow artist
Salon des Cent / XXme Exposition
Salon des Cent / XXme Exposition
In 1896, Mucha was flush with success after his work for Sarah Bernhardt. But he was about to be exhibited alongside the stars of French fin-de-siècle lithography—Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, Steinlen, and Grasset—in the Salon des Cent (the Salon of the One Hundred), a new series of exhibitions hosted by the literary magazine La Plume, which championed the art of lithography. “Mucha’s ambition was to become a member of this group," wrote Victor Arwas. The artist succeeded by attracting the attention of the gallery's owner, Deschamps. “Deschamps visited Mucha in his studio while he was designing the poster. Fascinated by what he saw, he persuaded Mucha to print it… Mucha agreed, and the publisher’s feeling, that this lightly outlined, impressive poster would make Mucha famous, proved to be correct” (Mucha/Art Nouveau, p. 156).
Imp. F. Champenois, Paris
literature: Rennert/Weill, 12; Lendl/Prague, p. 133 (var); DFP-II, 634; Modern Poster, 9; Wine Spectator, 74; Salon des Cent/Neumann, cover & 19 (var); Mucha/Art Nouveau, 18; Gold, 192; Reims, 901; Posters of Paris, 69; PAI-XCII, 279
This work will ship from Lambertville, New Jersey.