?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
SALON DES CENT. Circa 1899. 24 3/4x18 3/4 inches. G. de Malherbe, Paris. Condition A. Hand signed by the artist and numbered XII. Matted and framed. Grasset studied in Zurich and travelled around Europe before he settled in Paris where he became a major influence on the development of Art Nouveau. He worked in all aspects of the decorative arts; pioneering new illustration printing processes with Gillot, designing furniture, plates, stained-glass, textiles, jewelry, and creating a new type face known as "Le Grasset". He was also the first French theorist of Art Nouveau, publishing several books on the subject including La Plante et ses Applications Ornementales<> and Methode de Composition Ornementale<>. With these credentials it is no wonder that the Salon des Cent<> dedicated their first one man show (and second exhibition) to Grasset in 1894. The Salon des Cent<> was famous for having exhibiting artists design their own exhibition posters and Grasset's sensitive and impeccable work proved to be one of his best images, visually summing up his decorative principles. This special, limited edition version without lettering was actually printed five years later. La Plume's<> 4th Album d'Affiches et Estampes<>, December 1, 1899, offers the panel for 15 francs as item 279, with the explanation that the poster was already out of print but that it would soon be reissued as a signed and numbered printing without lettering. The exact date of the printing is unknown because, unfortunately, Leon Deschamps, La Plume's<> director, died a few weeks later, bringing business to a standstill. As a result we do not know for sure if this lithograph was published in December 1899 or January 1900. While La Plume<> does not mention the edition of this print, it was certainly, as was their custom, printed in an edition of only 100 copies. Grasset, p. 6, Weill, p. 32, Maitres, pl. 98, Word and Image, p. 34, DFP II, 410 (all variations).
