ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) BLEUZE - HADANCOURT PARFUMEUR. Circa 1899.
24 1/8x10 3/4 inches, 61 3/8x27 3/8 cm. F. Champenois, Paris.
Condition A / A-: light creasing in margins and corners. Paper. Matted and framed. Unexamined out of frame.
"This is one of the rarest posters by Mucha . . . As befits a perfumer, flowers whose fragrances are used in the trade abound throughout the design, in the girl's hair as well as in the decorative panels. Note the delicate shadings of the background and the graceful lines of the figure" (Rennert / Weill p. 260). This poster, like the following lots, represents a new approach by Mucha in laying out his posters using more of the white of the paper to form decorative elements. Here, he adds the elements of the plumes of wafting perfume and the branches of the flowering tree for an extra layer of depth. rare. We could find only five other copies at auction since 1991. Rennert / Weill 71, Lendl p. 116.