GEORGES DE FEURE (1868-1943) LITHOGRAPHIE ORIGINALES. 1896. 233/4x173/4 inches. Condition B+: restored losses in image; mounted on board. De Feure is admired and collected for his mysterious, symbolic representations of women. In assessing his early watercolors and paintings, Maindron, in L'Affiche Francaise, described them as "elegant, graceful, slightly melancholic," and he admired "the great harmony of colors" that he considered the epitome of "modernity and distinction." At the same time, in reference to de Feure's early posters, Maindron notes that they are "among the most remarkable in the past years [with a] variety and richness of tones." Here he represents a supremely elegant woman of fascinating beauty, who is deeply engrossed in her admiration for the cover of the album of lithographs being advertised. The exquisite Art Nouveau image is also self-referential, as de Feure designed the cover of the album itself, and his signature on the poster appears as his signature in the lithographic stone that appears at the woman's elbow. De Feure p. 75, DFP II 355, Wine Spectator 88.
