Similar in design to other posters he made for this annual fair in Moravia, located in what today is the eastern part of the Czech Republic, we see a traditionally dressed peasant girl with flowers at her head and feet. Within the roundel behind her head, the heraldic crest of the country—a lion—can almost be seen. This is one of the more tellingly Slavic designs by Mucha, all the more important as it reflects his actual heritage mixed with his signature Art Nouveau flourishes.
Sarah Bernhardt as La Princesse Lointaine (1897). Alphonse Mucha (Czech, 1860-1939). Poster for La Plume magazine.
Sarah Bernhardt played Mélissinde in Edmon Rostand’s play La Princesse Lointaine at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris from April 1895. This poster, which breaks away from Mucha’s full-length depictions of the actress, was created for a banquet organised by Bernhardt’s friends and admirers at the Grand Hotel in Paris on 9 December 1896. The poster proved so popular that it was reproduced in La Plume magazine, the Edition d’Art and as a postcard for the department store La Belle Jardinière. Bernhardt wears a tiara in her hair adorned with lilies that was designed by Mucha.
Sarah Bernhardt as La Princesse Lointaine (1897). Alphonse Mucha (Czech, 1860-1939). Poster for La Plume magazine.
Sarah Bernhardt played Mélissinde in Edmon Rostand’s play La Princesse Lointaine at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris from April 1895. This poster, which breaks away from Mucha’s full-length depictions of the actress, was created for a banquet organised by Bernhardt’s friends and admirers at the Grand Hotel in Paris on 9 December 1896. The poster proved so popular that it was reproduced in La Plume magazine, the Edition d’Art and as a postcard for the department store La Belle Jardinière. Bernhardt wears a tiara in her hair adorned with lilies that was designed by Mucha.
