?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 14,000 - $ 18,000
CYCLES PERFECTA. 1902. 61x41 1/2 inches. F. Champenois, Paris. Condition B+: repaired tears and restoration in margins; restored losses along vertical and horizontal folds. This is Mucha's most graphic poster, relying less on his eye-catching decorative elements and more on composition and layout. No unnecessary decorative details have been added. Mucha uses only a few colors and his palette includes a very unusual use of the white of the paper. This is not to say that it is not a great poster and that the master was not inspired; he may never have designed hair in such a flamboyant, exaggerated way ("Mucha finally had a perfect subject that justified hair in motion and he took full advantage of it" Rennert/Weill p. 294). The simple vision of this woman quietly leaning on a bicycle with a wistful look in her eye and her hair in tempest of liberation, done in warm tones, results in a peaceful and powerful gem of commercial art. Rennert/ Weill, 81, Mucha, A27, Weill, p. 41.
