ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) SARAH BERNHARDT / LEFEVRE-UTILE. 1903. 27x20 inches.F. Champenois, Paris. Condition B+: repaired tears and overpainting in image. Framed. This poster was one of the last Mucha designed before he left Paris to live in the United States (1904-1910). The idea of associating a celebrity portrait and testimonial with a product seems to have been copied from Mariani, the advertising genius who used this formula to market his wine. For this poster Mucha depicts Bernhardt in her beloved role as La Princess Lointaine (a pose he already captured once, in 1896, for La Plume). It is more of a painterly portrait than a piece of graphic art, but Mucha is at the height of his artistic maturity and handles his subject splendidly, conveying a far more intimate image of the actress than in any of his other posters. Her printed quotation, often mistaken for her actual inscription and autograph on the poster, "I haven't found anything better than a little LU -oh yes, two little LU," is not the most profound advertising slogan in the world, but it is duly charming. Rennert/Weill 86.
