?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 7,000 - $ 10,000
ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) BÉNÉDICTINE. 1898. 80 1/4x29 3/4 inches, 203 3/4x75 1/2 cm. F. Champenois, Paris. Condition B+: repaired tears and losses in margins, some affecting image; creases along unobtrusive vertical and horizontal folds. Two-sheets. Framed. Unexamined out of frame. "Benedictine is a liqueur flavoured with a variety of aromatic herbs, and Mucha gives a hint of it by showing two girls pressing flowers between the pages of a book. At the bottom is a view of the Fécamp Abbey [in Normandy] . . . This poster serves as an example of colour being used to create depth. In monochrome, the design would look too crowded; but by giving the girls' dresses an identical blue that makes a distinct contrast with the maroon and beige background, Mucha placed them in an entirely different plane and made the design three dimensional" (Lendl p. 98). The liqueur is still sold today, and the bottles haven't changed their appearance. Mucha Grand Palais A. 35, Rennert / Weill 58, Mucha / Henderson 59, Mucha / Bridges A8, Triumph des Jugendstils 39, Brno 12, DFP-II 648, Wine Spectator 70, Lendl p. 98.
