Cycles Perfecta
1902 · Colour lithograph (poster) · Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
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About this work
- Artist
- Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939)
- Year
- 1902
- Medium
- Colour lithograph (poster)
- Original size
- 52 × 35 cm
- Collection
- Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (department of Prints and Photography)
- Movement
- Art Nouveau
A young woman with a wild mass of hair leans over the handlebars of a bicycle, her hair streaming in the wind, under the lettering Cycles Perfecta. Mucha designed the poster in 1902 for the Perfecta bicycle, one of several he made for cycle makers, and here the whole design is a pretext for the hair, which he drew as if it were the energy of the ride itself; the bicycle is barely more than a wheel and handlebars. Printed by F. Champenois, Paris. The impression reproduced is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A wind-blown head of hair over handlebars, in soft golds and greens, for a hallway, bike room or bedroom at 12×18 or 16×24 in thin black or dark wood, no mat. It suits a white or cream wall and pairs with Waverley Cycles.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Art Nouveau painting
- Era
- 20th century (1902)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- decorative, sophisticated
- Rooms
- bedroom, hallway or entryway, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, anniversary, her, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 12×18. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or dark wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Cycles Perfecta in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Cycles Perfecta painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
