ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) [THE SEASONS.] 1897. 16 1/2x24 inches. Condition A-: minor restoration in upper left corner. Matted and framed. After the success of his first set of decorative panels glorifying the seasons in 1896, Mucha's printer (Champenois) immediately commissioned a second series. While in many ways this second group of allegorical beauties are much like the first (Mucha's two visions of winter are quite similar), there are also some differences between the two. In this later set the colors are sharper, differentiating them from the pastel palette of the first series. Also, and more importantly, this series was designed within a decorative, graphic frame. For the decorative panels, the top space was filled with a floral design, and the bottom space bore the name of each season. But those spaces could also be left empty. This was a critical commercial decision as it made these panels attractive to advertisers, who would use the blank spaces to fill in their particulars. When this variation (with the space at top and calendar area left empty) hit the market, the magazine La Plume was offering them for sale at 3.5 francs. This was more than they were asking for the fully filled-in version, indicating that even at the time this was a rarer printing. Rennert / Weill 37 var. 2.
![ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) [THE SEASONS.] 1897. 16x24 inches.](/Content/images/image-placeholder.png)
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