Victor Mignot

Le Cénacle by Victor Mignot, Art Nouveau Commedia dell'Arte lithograph, 1897

1897

Art Nouveau Cinderella theater poster by Dudley Hardy, published in 1897 by Imprimerie Chaix, Paris, the printing house known for publishing the works of Belle Epoque master Jules Ch...

Two patrons examine art objects in Georg Muller-Breslau’s medieval-style poster for the 1896 exhibition of Saxon artisanry and works of art in Dresden, “the old city” (Die Alte Stadt...

Stone lithograph sepia plate of Hallowed Be Thy Name from Alphonse Mucha’s masterpiece of mysticism, Le Pater. Printed by F. Champenois, published by Henri Piazza in Paris in an edition of 510, 1899. “Le Pater is the perfect convergence of three important movements at the close of the 19th century: Art Nouveau, Mysticism, and Religion. Art Nouveau, through its respect and honor of Nature, promotes the idea of a spirit of energy coursing through all things–a tenet of Mysticism–that finds foundation in the traditions of Mucha's personal relationship with the imagery of Religion. Le Pater gave Mucha a venue to communicate his beliefs specifically through his unique approach to Art and the coded language he had been learning through his devotion to Masonic teachings. He combined the aesthetics of Medieval manuscripts...

Extremely rare early work by “The Father of the Poster,” Jules Chéret: Lithograph announcing Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield, printed on Imperial...

Lithograph of Edward Penfield’s 1897 advertisement for Mark Twain's short story, Tom Sawyer Detective (1896). While this poster was printed in multiple siz...

Each country that approached the ideology of Art Nouveau clearly had their own unique contribution to the movement. The popularity of French Art Nouveau became globally recognized and produced in large numbers. While we recognize the rarity and extraordinary work of Italian Art Nouveau, or Stile Liberty, as it was known in that country, very little of this art survived and in very small quantities. What’s impossibly rare Scandinavian Art Nouveau...

CHARPENTIER, ALEX (1856 -1909) "Grande Tuilerie d’Ivry" Original lithograph from "Les Maitres de L'Affiche" series Printed by Imprimerie Chaix, Paris Bearing MDL stamp lower right, issue # 33, 1898. Plate #131 Unframed Size: 11 3/8 x 15 3/4”The "Les Maitres de l'Affiche" series was offered as a subscription series to collectors every month for 60 months, from December 1895 through November 1900. The "Maitres de l'Affiche," were issued as separate numbered sheets, referred to as "plates". They were numbered, with the printers name "Imprimerie Chaix," in the margin at the bottom left hand corner, "PL.1" to "PL.240." In the margin at the bottom right hand corner of each, is a blind embossed stamp from a design of Cheret's. The smaller format and the fact the "Maitres" were a paid subscription series, allowed Imprimerie Chaix to use the latest state of the art printing techniques, not normally used in the large format posters due to cost. A very high quality of paper was used, where as the large format posters were printed on lesser quality newsprint, due to cost and a short expected life span. This explains why the quality of the printing, in the "Maitres de l'Affiche," usually far exceeds that of their larger counterparts. The text reads "Great Tileworks of Ivry, founded in 1854, Ivry-Port near Paris; the largest ceramics factory in the world for building, industry and art productions; Emille Muller stoneware; execution of works by masters of statuary; architectural facings; decorative sculpture; showroom and salesroom, 3 rue Halevy; the only tile able to bear the names Muller and Ivry; (tiles) guaranteed against frost" Given the commission for an extremely text heavy poster, the artist executes a masterful design. The angelic young boy holds the wares of this famous ceramics factory, against an abstract background awash in organic green hues. The handling of the immense text that flows from top to bottom in every available space shows great artistic skill, as the overall beauty of the design is intact. In 1989 the Metropolitan Museum of art acquired a stoneware plaque...

BRADLEY, WILL (1868 - 1962) The Chap Book Original lithograph from “Les Maitres de L’Affiche” series Printed by Imprimerie Chaix, Paris Bearing MDL stamp lower right, from issue #34, 1898. Plate #136 Unframed Size: 11 3/8 x 15 3/4” The “Les Maitres de l’Affiche” series was offered as a subscription series to collectors every month for 60 months, from December 1895 through November 1900. The “Maitres de l’Affiche,” were issued as separate numbered sheets, referred to as “plates”. They were numbered, with the printers name “Imprimerie Chaix,” in the margin at the bottom left hand corner, “PL.1” to “PL.240.” In the margin at the bottom right hand corner of each, is a blind embossed stamp from a design of Cheret’s. The smaller format and the fact the “Maitres” were a paid subscription series, allowed Imprimerie Chaix to use the latest state of the art printing techniques, not normally used in the large format posters...

RASSENFOSSE, ARMAND (1862 – 1934) "Grande Brasserie Van Velsen" Original lithograph from “Les Maitres de L’Affiche” series Printed by Imprimerie Chaix, Paris Bearing MDL stamp lowe...

PRICE, JULIUS "An Artist’s Model" Original lithograph from “Les Maitres de L’Affiche” series Printed by Imprimerie Chaix, Paris Bearing MDL stamp lower right, from issue #1, 1896. Plate # 3 Unframed Size: 11 3/8 x 15 3/4” The “Les Maitres de l’Affiche” series was offered as a subscription series to collectors every month for 60 months, from December 1895 through November 1900. The “Maitres de l’Affiche,” were issued as separate numbered sheets, referred to as “plates”. They were numbered, with the printers name “Imprimerie Chaix,” in the margin at the bottom left hand corner, “PL.1” to “PL.240.” In the margin at the bottom right hand corner of each, is a blind embossed stamp from a design of Cheret’s. The smaller format and the fact the “Maitres” were a paid subscription series, allowed Imprimerie Chaix to use the latest state of the art printing techniques, not normally used in the large format posters...

TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, HENRI DE (1864-1901) "LA VACHE ENRAGÉE" Wittrock P27B, Adhemar 197 Original color lithograph Wittrock’s State III of III with letters Printed on buff wove paper, c. 1896 Bears artist stamp “TL” upper right, dated 96 Image size: 22 1/2” x 23 5/8” Several examples are known where Lautrec drew on work by other artists whom he admired. In this poster there are clear references to Adolphe Willette's humorous themes and rococo style of illustration. Willette was the founder and illustrator of the short-lived monthly “La Vache Enragee”(the angry cow) edited by the cartoonist Adolphe Roedel. This colored poster of the same title was commissioned for the appearance of the magazine March 1896. As a reference to the wretched financial state of most artists, the term “manger de la vache enrage” (meaning roughly, “meaning not having enough to eat”) was adopted as the motto for the “Vachalcade”which was held on Montmarte annually from 1896. This was an artists' procession, with fanfares and allegories on fame and the muses; it also included a furious cow and a troupe of pretty girls as a satire on Europa with the bull. The event was organized by Roedel"(Adriani p.217) Toulouse-Lautrec took up lithography at a high point in its history, when technical advances in color printing and new possibilities for large scale led to a proliferation of posters as well as prints for the new bourgeois collector. In his short career, he created more than three hundred fifty prints and thirty posters, as well as lithographed theater programs...

CAPPIELLO, LEONETTO (1875 - 1942) "Katabexine" Lithograph in color, linen-backed c. 1903 Sheet size: 54.25” x 39” Cap./GP, 252; Cap/StV, 4.22; DFP-II, 118; Schardt, pp. 174-5; PAI-V...