Alphonse MUCHA (Ivancice, 1860 - Prague, 1939) The Iris Watercolour gouache over pencil lines on paper stretched over cardboard Signed and dated 'Mucha 1899' lower right The Iris, watercolour, gouache and pen, signed and dated, by A. Mucha 44.69 x 20.08 in. 113.5 x 51.0 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale; Paris, Hôtel Drouot, s. 1, Me Claude Robert, 18 January 1971, no. 19 ; Acquired at this sale by Gérard Lévy ; Gérard Lévy Collection; Then by descent Exhibitions: Mucha 1860-1939, Paintings, Illustrations - Posters, Arts Décoratifs, Paris, Grand Palais, 5 February - 28 April 1980, cat. no. 134: "L'Iris", reproduced [label on reverse]. Alfons Mucha, Vienna, Belvedere, 12 February - 1 June 2009 ; Montpellier, Musée Fabre, 20 June - 20 September 2009, cat. no. 37 reproduced p. 105 : " Etude à l'aquarelle en grandeur originale pour le panneau décoratif 'Iris' " [label on reverse] After starting out as a theatre decorator in his native Moravia, then in Vienna from 1879, Alphonse Mucha was commissioned to decorate the castle of Count Khuen-Belasi who, impressed by his talent, financed his studies at the Munich Academy of Art from 1885. After moving to Paris in 1887, the artist completed his training at the Académie Colarossi and then at the Académie Julian. He began producing advertising posters and illustrating books, catalogues and calendars. Noted for the quality of his illustrations, Mucha was taken on by the Armand Colin publishing house, one of the most important in the capital. He triumphed in 1894 when he designed the poster for Sarah Bernhardt's Gismonda, performed at the Théâtre de la Renaissance. This was followed by a six-year collaboration with the famous actress, for whom he designed the posters for La Dame aux camélias (1896) and Médée (1898). Mucha laid the aesthetic foundations for what was to become his success, mixing plant and floral motifs steeped in Art Nouveau with ornaments inspired by Byzantine, Oriental and Symbolism. With constant attention to detail, he invariably placed at the centre of his compositions a female figure with long, flowing hair, her face sometimes standing out against a circle, dressed in brightly-coloured fabrics and adorned with jewels. Wishing to disseminate his principles, in 1902 he published Les Documents décoratifs, which quickly became a benchmark for ornamental design, listing the complex range of Art Nouveau decor. After a long four-year stay in the United States, between 1906 and 1910, Mucha returned to Prague, where in ten years he produced what he considered to be his major work: The Slavic Epic. Dated 1899 and probably related to a private commission, our monumental watercolour is a meticulous reworking of the composition of The Iris, an important decorative panel by Mucha printed by Champenois the previous year as part of a series devoted to flowers. In addition to the white colouring of the irises, a symbol of purity and innocence, the artist introduced some subtle variations in the treatment of the jewels. As in the poster, the modelling disappeared in favour of a sinuous line that encircled the figure, surrounded by flowers, and the decorative treatment of the hair was simplified to the extreme, resulting in the creation of one of the most famous posters of Art Nouveau. Alphonse MUCHA (Ivancice, 1860 - Prague, 1939) 113.5 x 51.0 cm After starting out as a theatre decorator in his native Moravia, then in Vienna from 1879, Alphonse Mucha was commissioned to decorate the castle of Count Khuen-Belasi who, impressed by his talent, financed his studies at the Munich Academy of Arts from 1885. After moving to Paris in 1887, the artist completed his training at the Académie Colarossi and then at the Académie Julian. He began producing advertising posters and illustrating books, catalogues and calendars. Noted for the quality of his illustrations, Mucha was taken on by the Armand Colin publishing house, one of the most important in the capital. He triumphed in 1894 when he designed the poster for Sarah Bernhardt's Gismonda, performed at the Théâtre de la Renaissance. This was followed by a six-year collaboration with the famous actress, for whom he designed the posters for La Dame aux camélias (1896) and Médée (1898). Mucha laid the aesthetic foundations for what was to become his success, mixing plant and floral motifs steeped in Art Nouveau with ornaments inspired by Byzantine, Oriental and Symbolism. With constant attention to detail, he invariably placed at the centre of his compositions a female figure with long, flowing hair, her face sometimes standing out against a circle, dressed in brightly-coloured fabrics and adorned with jewels. Wishing to disseminate his principles, in 1902 he published Les Documents décoratifs, which quickly became a benchmark for ornamental design, listing the complex range of Art Nouveau decor. After a long four-year stay in the United States, between 1906 and 1910, Mucha returned to Prague, where in ten years he produced what he considered to be his major work: The Slavic Epic. Dated 1899 and probably related to a private commission, our monumental watercolour is a meticulous reworking of the composition of The Iris, an important decorative panel by Mucha printed by Champenois the previous year as part of a series devoted to flowers. In addition to the white colouring of the irises, a symbol of purity and innocence, the artist introduced a few subtle variations in the treatment of the jewels. As in the poster, the modelling disappeared in favour of a sinuous line that encircled the figure, surrounded by flowers, and the decorative treatment of the hair was simplified to the extreme, resulting in the creation of one of the most famous posters of Art Nouveau.