?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 7,000 - $ 10,000
ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) LANCE PARFUM "RODO." 1896. 171/2x123/4 inches. F. Champenois. Paris. Condition A-: discoloration in margins and image. Paper. This early work of Mucha's already exhibits the heart and soul of his design system, which he was to further refine over the upcoming years. Already in place is usage of a halo as a backdrop for his angelic figures, and the whole image, including the text, being incorporated into a sophisticated graphic frame. Certain elements here, however, reflect the early stage in Mucha's career when this piece was designed: the intricate precision of the rendering of the woman's chemise, which was to all but disappear in Mucha's later works, replaced by flowing diaphanous gowns, and her hair, which bears only a scant resemblance to the cascading "exquisite arabesque of luxuriant hair, which became the artist's trademark" (Rennert/Weill p. 82). This spray perfume advertised was launched by the Societe Chimique des Usines du Rhone, a company that went on to become the powerful Rhone-Poulenc group. Rennert/Weill 14.
