Treasures: Columbia Rare Book & Manuscript Library

THE RARE BOOK AND
MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY
OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Treasures

91 Alphonse Mucha 1860-1939
Painting for the Job poster

Gouache, watercolor and black ink, signed, 20.5 x 15.5 inches [ca. 1896]

The illustrator and painter Alphonse Mucha first became prominent in 1894 because of the success of his poster advertising Sarah Bernhardt in Sardou's Gismonda, a work that led to a six year contract for costume designs and a series of posters for the actress. He also produced many magazine illustrations and received poster commissions from several businesses; the vivid design advertising Job cigarette paper, with its swirling, twisting tendrils surrounding an idealized woman, is characteristic of the Art Nouveau style of Mucha, who influenced poster art for a generation.

Gift of Solton and Julia Engel

Collections and Treasures

91	Alphonse Mucha 1860-1939
Painting for the Job poster
Gouache, watercolor and black ink, signed, 20.5 x 15.5 inches [ca. 1896]
The illustrator and painter Alphonse Mucha first became prominent in 1894 because of the success of his poster advertising Sarah Bernhardt in Sardou's Gismonda, a work that led to a six year contract for costume designs and a series of posters for the actress. He also produced many magazine illustrations and received poster commissions from several businesses; the vivid design advertising Job cigarette paper, with its swirling, twisting tendrils surrounding an idealized woman, is characteristic of the Art Nouveau style of Mucha, who influenced poster art for a generation.
Gift of Solton and Julia Engel