?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 5,000 - $ 7,500
ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) LANCE PARFUM "RODO." 1896. 17 1/2x12 1/2 inches, 44 1/2x31 3/4 cm. F. Champenois, Paris. Condition A-: tape stains at side margins; minor abrasions at edges; unobtrusive pin holes in corners. Framed. This charming and graceful poster was designed early in Mucha's career, and yet already exhibits the heart and soul of his design aesthetic that would become so prevalent and refined in the following years, specifically the halo behind the central figure and the mosaic-style background. What differentiates this piece from Mucha's subsequent masterpieces is the intricate rendering of the woman's chemise, which all but disappears 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). Mucha also designed the packaging for this perfume. Rennert / Weill 14 (var 2), Lendl p. 113, Brno 11, Mucha Grand Palais A. 21, Mucha / Henderson 55, Art Nouveau p. 114, Spirit of Art Nouveau p. 59.
