ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939)
70
●
[SLAVIA.] 1907.
22
1
/
2
x14
3
/
4
inches, 57
1
/
4
x37
1
/
2
cm. Stenc, Prague.
Condition B+: creases and abrasions in margins and image; vertical and horizontal folds; pencil notations
in bottom margin. Paper.
“Slavia,” the personification of the Slavic people, was also the name chosen for this bank and insurance
company founded in Prague in 1869. With Czechoslovakia still under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, the name was clearly intended to attract, assure and perhaps even inspire citizens with Slavic
heritage. Designed while Mucha was living in America (note the “NY” he included in front of his
name), the image is laden with symbolic imagery. Slavia holds a ring in her hand which symbolizes
unity (i.e. panslavism) and on either side of her chair sits a stylized falcon (in Czech, sokol), the name
given to the Czech nationalist movement. This poster is based on Mucha’s painted portrait of Josephine
Crane Bradley, the daughter of his friend and patron, Charles R. Crane. The image was also used in the
1920s on a Czech 100 krown note. This is the Russian version. Mucha / Posters and Photographs p.
55 (var), Rennert / Weill 93 (var), Cesky Plakat 79 (var).
[6,000/9,000]
