Mucha

1898 · 74390 — Paris: Imprimerie Champenoispour CH. MassonH. Piazza 1898. Fine. Imprimerie Champenois pour CH. Masson H. Piazza Paris Mai 1898 41 x 56 cm une feuille Original black and white print with wide margins serving as cover for the famous monthly publication L'Estampe Moderne. Entirely printed in black our print is the cover of the rare deluxe volume reunion with wide margins of the first year of publication. Artist's signature in the plate and deluxe printing number added in pencil. Magnificent French monthly publication edited between May 1897 and April 1899 L'Estampe moderne consists of original chromolithographs which unlike other magazines such as Les Maîtres de l'Affiche and as stipulated on the tissue guards were created specially by each artist for the magazine. Thus 100 prints appeared in total covering the major artistic movements of the late 19th century: Symbolism Art Nouveau Pre-Raphaelites Orientalists and Belle Epoque. Each delivery of four prints was issued in 2000 copies sold for 3.50F and 100 on Japan paper offered at 10F. Henri Piazza also planned a confidential deluxe printing: 50 copies on Japan paper with wide margins and 50 in black on China paper at the considerable price of 30F. The interest of French collectors in artistic posters amplified at the beginning of the 1890s. Octave Uzanne to describe this fever invented the term ""affichomanie."" The poster originally popular and posted in the streets of the capital then became an art object and its ephemeral medium became precious and destined for preservation. Piazza decided to remove the poster from its advertising vocation and elevate it to the rank of a complete work of art on the same level as the deluxe illustrated book. He thus composed a prestigious collection of entirely original works by the most prominent European artists of the moment: Georges de Feure Eugène Grasset Henri Detouche Emile Berchmans Louis Rhead Gaston de Latenay Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer Gustave-Max Stevens Charles Doudelet Hans Christiansen Henri Fantin-Latour Steinlen Ibels Engels Willette Henri Meunier Evenepoël Bellery-Desfontaines Charles Léandre etc. The publisher also integrated into his project a Czech artist freshly arrived in Paris Alfons Mucha ""qui s'est révélé depuis peu en France et qui a conquis d'emblée une si grande place dans la faveur du public. Comme dans ses affiches que tout le monde connaît et recherche il nous montre ici les ressources variées de son talent multiple et sûr de dessinateur de décorateur et de coloriste."" ""who has recently revealed himself in France and who has immediately conquered such a great place in public favor. As in his posters which everyone knows and seeks he shows us here the varied resources of his multiple and sure talent as draftsman decorator and colorist."" caption printed on the tissue guard of Salomé. It is moreover to him that the first premium of the magazine was entrusted offered ""à tous les souscripteurs des douze livraisons annuelles de L'Estampe moderne"" ""to all subscribers of the twelve annual deliveries of L'Estampe moderne"" as well as the famous cover illustration. Very handsome copy. Imprimerie Champenoispour CH. MassonH. Piazza unknown