ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) MONACO-MONTE-CARLO. 1897. 43 1/4x30 inches, 110x76 cm. F. Champenois, Paris. Condition A-: repaired tears, creases and restoration in margins and image; vertical and horizontal folds. By the late 1890s, Mucha's fame was such that he was called upon to help advertise travel to one of the Riviera's most elegant locales. The image represents the perfect advertising combination, equating Mucha's exquisite talent with the inherent luxury of the destination. The image also shows how Mucha was allowed to interpret his commissions almost any way he chose. This is by no means an average travel poster. The coastline and sea of Monte Carlo are barely visible through the staggeringly-effusive sunburst of "curving stalks of lilacs and hydrangea, featuring some of the most intricate conflorescences (sic) ever painted by Mucha" (Rennert / Weill p. 136). Even given what few features of the region are visible, Mucha's maiden has her back turned to them and is facing the viewer in an almost beatific pose. It has been postulated that Mucha's design might have been suggesting the wheels of a train and the train tracks that would bring travelers to Monte Carlo, or perhaps even the curve of a roulette wheel in the resort's famous casino. What is certain is that Mucha never went so far in his depiction of flowers and floral ornamentation as in this poster. His extravagant renderings, accomplished even more brilliantly via the use of metallic inks, manage to achieve a previously inconceivable concept: Mucha's diagonal movement within the image is actually curved! Rennert / Weill 31, Wine Spectator 73.
