Médée
1898 · Colour lithograph (poster) · Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
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About this work
- Artist
- Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939)
- Year
- 1898
- Medium
- Colour lithograph (poster)
- Original size
- 210 × 78 cm
- Collection
- Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (department of Prints and Photography)
- Movement
- Art Nouveau
Sarah Bernhardt as Medea stands rigid with a bloodied dagger in her hand, her eyes staring, the bodies of her children at her feet, against a sunset sky inside a Greek arch; a serpent bracelet coils around her arm. Mucha designed the poster in 1898 for Catulle Mendès's Médée at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, and Bernhardt liked the bracelet so much that she had the jeweller Georges Fouquet make it for her. It is the most dramatic of his posters for her, the figure held still at the moment after the murder. Printed by F. Champenois, Paris. The impression reproduced is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A tall, stark figure in deep red, gold and sunset tones, for a study, library or hallway at 12×18 or 16×24 in thin black or dark wood, no mat. It suits a white or deep red wall and pairs with Lorenzaccio.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Art Nouveau painting
- Era
- 19th century (1898)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- decorative, sophisticated
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, study or library, 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 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — dark wood flatters the lighter palette; black sharpens it.
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 Médée in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Médée 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.
