Sarah Bernhardt poster – American Tour – Alfons Mucha poster – 1896
In 1894, The French actress, Sarah Berhardt was already a well-known actress having performed in over 70 plays over a thirty-two year period. She had taken over the direction of the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris in 1893, which at the time was putting on her version of Victorien Sardou’s Greek melodrama Gizmondo.
Bernhardt contacted the publishing firm Lemercier that printed her theatrical posters ordering a new poster for the continuation of the play. According to Mucha, Bernhardt wanted a poster to advertise the prolongation of the theatrical run after the Christmas break, insisting it be ready by 1 January 1895. Because all the regular Lemercier artists were on holiday, Mucha was turned to in desperation and was asked to quickly design the new poster. Luckily, for both Bernhadt and himself, Mucha agreed.
The result was incredible!
In his 2015 book, Alphonse Mucha – the Artist as Visionary, Tomoko Sato describes the painting: The poster was more than life-size; a little more than two meters high, with Bernhardt in the costume of a Byzantine noblewoman, dressed in an orchid headdress and floral stole, and holding a palm branch in the Easter procession near the end of the play. One of the innovative features of the posters was the ornate rainbow-shaped arch behind the head, almost like a halo, which focused attention on her face; this feature appeared in all of his future theater posters. Probably because of a shortage of time, some areas of the background were left blank, without his usual decoration. The only background decoration were the Byzantine mosaic tiles behind her head. The poster featured extremely fine draftsmanship and delicate pastel colors, unlike the typical brightly-colored posters of the time. The top of the poster, with the title, was richly composed and ornamented, and balanced the bottom, where the essential information was given in the shortest possible form: just the name of the theater.
When the poster appeared on the streets of Paris on January 1, 1895, it caused an immediate sensation. Bernhardt loved the poster and was pleased with the public reaction and ordered four thousand copies of the poster. She gave Mucha a six-year contract to produce more and Mucha went on to design posters for each successive Bernhardt play including La Dame aux Camelias , Lorenzaccio, Medea, La Tosca and Hamlet. He also designed theatrical programs, costumes, stage sets and jewellery for Bernhardt.
The original Gizmonda theatre production starred Sarah Bernhardt as Gismonda and Lucien Guitry as Almerio. The show would go to Broadway at the Fifth Avenue Theatre on December 11, 1894, and end in February 1895. Another poster was required.
Bernhardt was so enamoured with Mucha’s work that she requested the Gizmondo artwork be reused for this American tour poster, bringing a new audience to not only her own work but also that of the artist.
The success of the Bernhardt posters changed Mucha’s life. It brought other commissions for advertising posters, creating designs for JOB cigarette papers, Ruinart Champagne, Lefèvre-Utile biscuits, Nestlé baby food, Idéal Chocolate, the Beers of the Meuse, Moët-Chandon champagne, Trappestine brandy, and Waverly and Perfect bicycles.
Mucha with his print partners Champenois went on to develop a new kind of art product. A decorative panel, a poster without text, purely for decoration. These were published in large print runs for a modest price. The first series was The Seasons, published in 1896, depicting four different women in extremely decorative floral settings representing the seasons of the year. These were followed by other series including:” The Flowers, The Arts, The Times of Day, Precious Stones, and The Moon and the Stars. Between 1896 and 1904 Mucha created over one hundred poster designs for Champenois.
Mucha had made it. He was invited by Deschamps to show his work in the Salon des Cent exhibition in 1896, and then, in 1897, to have a major retrospective in the same gallery – showing 448 works. The Gismonda poster of 1895 was also selected by Jules Cheret to be included as Plate 27 in his Les Maitres de Affiche.
Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as a fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.
The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £15. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.
