ARNOST HOFBAUER (1869-1944) TOPICUV SALON. 1898.
43 1/4x32 inches, 110x81 1/4 cm. V. Neubert, Praha-Smichov.
Condition B+ / A-: small replaced losses at edges; minor repaired tears and creases at edges and along vertical and horizontal folds. Framed.
Hofbauer studied at the Prague School of Arts and Crafts and also at the Prague Academy under Vojtech Hynais, one of the great Czech classical painters at the end of the 19th century. This poster is for the first exhibition of the work of the Manes group, an avant-garde artistic organization formed in 1887 that was part of the Czech Successionist movement, of which he was a founding member. The exhibition was being held at Topic's Salon, a literary and artistic headquarters, loosely based on Paris' Salon des Cent, with a gallery space for which Hofbauer created several posters. His early posters combined "symbolist effect and Japonist techniques,"(Howard p. 93) the symbolism here being the awakening of the old established order by the attractive muse of the Manes artists. Rare. We could find only three other copies at auction in the last 20 years. This is the version before text. Mascha 138, Czech Posters p. 15, Cesky Plakat p. 142, Prazsky Chodec p. 29, Vital Art Nouveau p. 66, Prague 1900 p. 121.