Lot 134
Alphonse Mucha
(Czech, 1860-1939)
Gismonda
, 1894
Sale 908 - Prints and Multiples
Sep 29, 2021 10:00AM CT
Live / Chicago
Estimate
$5,000 - $7,000

Sold for $16,250

Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium
Lot Description
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.

Condition Report
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. 

Please request additional images. 

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