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La Dame Aux Camélias

Poster
1896 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Imprimerie F. Champenois (printers (people))
Mucha, Alphonse (artist)
Place of origin
Paris (issued)

This poster advertises the great French actress Sarah Bernhardt in the play La Dame aux Camélias at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris, in 1896. The play was based on the novel published in 1848 by Alexander Dumas (1824-1895). The tragic role of Marguerite Gautier was one of Bernhardt's greatest successes, and she used this poster again when touring the play in the United States. Bernhardt loved Alphonse Mucha's exotic and romantic vision of her, and in 1895 she contracted him for six years to design posters, sets and costumes for her productions.

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Object details

Categories
Posters
Advertising
Prints
Object type
Poster
TitleLa Dame Aux Camélias (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Lithographic Ink
Colour Lithography
Brief description
Alphonse Mucha. La Dame Aux Camélias poster, 1896.
Physical description
Poster
Dimensions
  • Height: 2085mm
  • Width: 785mm
Style
Art Nouveau
Gallery label
Poster: La Dame aux Camélias
1896

Theatre posters were important in the development of graphic design in the late 19th century. Alphonse Mucha's posters for the actress Sarah Bernhardt, with their flowing lines and opulent colouring, represent the peak of Art Nouveau graphics. In creating these languid, glamorous women for advertising posters, Mucha successfully devised aspirational images for commercial purposes.

France; Paris; designed by Alphonse Mucha; printed by Imprimerie F. Champenois
Colour Lithograph on paper

Museum no. E.515-1939
Gift of Mr Noel D. Sheffield FRIBA
Credit line
Given by Mr Noel D. Sheffield.
Copyright ADAGP, Paris, and DACS, London 1997
Subjects depicted
Camellia (Flower)
Bernhardt, Sarah
Literary referenceLa Dame aux Camélias by Alexander Dumas
Summary
This poster advertises the great French actress Sarah Bernhardt in the play La Dame aux Camélias at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris, in 1896. The play was based on the novel published in 1848 by Alexander Dumas (1824-1895). The tragic role of Marguerite Gautier was one of Bernhardt's greatest successes, and she used this poster again when touring the play in the United States. Bernhardt loved Alphonse Mucha's exotic and romantic vision of her, and in 1895 she contracted him for six years to design posters, sets and costumes for her productions.
Bibliographic references
  • Greenhalgh, Paul (Ed.), Art Nouveau: 1890-1914 . London: V&A Publications, 2000
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design & Department of Paintings, Accessions 1939, published under the Authority of the Ministry of Education, London, 1950
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.515-1939

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Record createdMarch 10, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O76331/la-dame-aux-camélias-poster-mucha-alphonse/
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