Artist: Alphonse Mucha Czech (1860-1939)
Title: Salon des Cent / XXme Exposition 1896
Plate: M.SD
Original stone colour lithograph, backed on Linen.
Printed by Imprimerie F. Champenois, Paris,1896.
Certificate of Authenticity.
Reference: 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;
Size: 16 1/4 in x 24 1/2 in / 41.2 cm x 62.2 cm
Price: $18500.00 Rare Full Size
Sold for $ 26,400 US Poster Auctions International, NY Feb 2022
"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)
Watercolor Study
"The Salon of the Hundred, was a small gallery on the premises of the magazine 'La Plume' where promising designers displayed their work. The publication's marketing arm, Editions d'Art, also issued these posters and decorative panels in various editions, often on quality paper as art for the home. The bottom half of these posters, there were 43 in all, is normally filled with text" (Gold p.132)