D'APRÈS ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) MME. SARAH - BERNHARDT / WORLD'S TOUR SEASONS 1914 - 15 - 16.
82½x40½ inches, 209½x102¾ cm. Carey Print, New York.
Condition B+: expertly-repaired tears, creases, minor overpainting and restoration in margins and image and along vertical and horizontal folds. Two-sheets.
Sarah Bernhardt made her first American tour in 1896, by which point she was already an international star, taking with her a variation of one of the posters Mucha had designed for her in Paris. "As was the case with all these versions, it mentioned no name of the play, nor did it mention that the plays for which the design was originally used were presented on this tour" (Rennert / Weill p. 108). Among Mucha's famous posters for the actress that were reused to promote her American appearances were Gismonda, Lorenzaccio, La Tosca and this, La Dame aux Camelias. This tour, beginning in 1914, was in many ways the actress' final act; she was already in her late 60s, World War I had broken out, and in 1915 she had her leg amputated below the knee. With these factors combined with a lack of contemporary media coverage, it is uncertain how much, if any, of this tour actually took place, possibly accounting for the scarcity of the image. Note how it is referred to as a "World's Tour" and not an American Tour. Aside from the entirely different titles and text, the most obvious diversion from Mucha's original is the bright colors used here, compared with the subtle pastels from 1896. Rare.