Alphonse Mucha is probably the most renowned name when it comes to Art Nouveau style, along with René Lalique and Antoni Gaudì.

Born in 1860 in the Czech Republic, he worked as a decorative painter in Eastern Europe before moving to Paris in 1887, where the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt, the “divine” Sarah, became his patron and launched his career. In the last decade of the Nineteenth Century, he became a celebrated illustrator for advertisement posters, but also for painting, book illustrations, sculpting, designing theatre sets, jewellery, and wallpaper.

The work we are presenting in our next Fine Sale, is one of a series Mucha designed to personify four flowers – Rose, Lily, Carnation and Iris - using his characteristic naturalistic style with minimal stylisation.

Two of the original watercolours were exhibited at his solo exhibition at the Salon des Cent in 1897, but the entire set did not become available until the following year.

The series sold out very quickly and the editor Ferdinand Champenois decided to print a smaller version with all four panels presented in a single image – however “Carnation” is a single lithograph printed two years later.

6/6/2021 ─ Lot 374 ─  Alphonse Mucha (Czech 1860-1939) 'Carnation'. 1897, colour lithograph, from the Flowers series, in a 1927 glazed frame, 107cm x 47cm.

- Daniela Guardiani