Rêverie, 1897 Color lithograph, 72.7 x 55.2 cm This was originally designed as an in-house calendar for the printing company Champenois, but its great popularity led to its swift publication as a decorative panel. Here, Mucha used a composition similar to Savon Notre Dame, with a dreamy young woman in a beautifully embroidered gown, set against a halo decorated with an elaborate floral pattern.
Lorenzaccio, 1896 Color lithograph, 203.7 x 76 cm The third in a series of seven posters produced for Sarah Bernhardt, this poster advertises her production of a play by Alfred de Musset. In the play, Bernhardt performed the role of the male hero, Lorenzo de’ Medici, whose silhouetted figure against the arched window forms an elegant S-curve in this poster. Mucha designed all the Bernhardt posters in a consistent style — a tall format with the prominent standing figure of the actress placed in a raised ‘niche’ like a saint, and his posters helped to promote the image of the ‘Divine Sarah.’
A. MUCHA
|
LE STYLE MUCHA AND ART NOUVEAU
12-1-4 Slovo Summer 2012_05-7-73 SlovoWinter05/06.qxd 6/12/12 1:49 PM Page 22
Design for a fan with poppy and ivy motifs, circa 1899 Pencil, watercolor and gold on paper, 38 x 25 cm
22 | National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library