Rare Posters

Featured in the upcoming Rare Posters auction, offered by Rennert’s Gallery, is a set of four Art Nouveau posters from Alphonse Mucha. Each woman portrayed on the posters represents a gemstone—emerald, amethyst, ruby, and topaz. Mucha, a Czech artist who gained renown for his commercial works, simplified his highly decorative style in these pieces to focus on more clearly defined forms. His subjects pose evocatively in flowing dresses, surrounded by flowers. According to The Art Story, Mucha “… celebrated femininity as the antidote to an overly-industrialized, impersonal, ‘masculine’ world.” Over 30 posters by Alphonse Mucha will be available in this auction. 

Other leading lots include works from Jean Dupas and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Ambassadeurs / Aristide Bruant, a poster by the latter artist, depicts a leading cabaret singer of Paris’ Montmartre neighborhood. The subject’s face is detailed, but the poster is dominated by his red scarf and wooden walking stick. Bruant, the singer, refused to perform in his nightclub until the streets of the city were plastered with this poster. The image has since become one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s most-recognized works. Advertising posters are highlighted in the sale as well, selling Bellanger cars and Ricqlès peppermint extract. View the complete catalog and register to bid by visiting Rennert’s Gallery.