In 1894, Alphonse Mucha, one of the pioneers of the Art Nouveau movement, was asked to produce a promotional poster for Bernhardt's latest production, Gismonda, playing at the Renaissance Theatre in Paris. The result of this collaboration catapulted Mucha into the limelight in international art scene almost overnight. The partnership with Bernhardt would last for a total of six years, and would result in Mucha rendering Bernhardt on dozens of posters, prints, paintings, and postcards.

The images below represent a small fraction of the material Mucha produced using the likeness of Sarah Bernhardt. Clicking on a thumbnail image will lead to a larger image. For a more comprehensive collection, be sure to visit our Mucha Exhibit.

This poster, created in 1903 (published in 1904) depicts the legendary
actress Sarah bernhardt in "La Princesse Fontaine", by Edmond Rostand.
The poster was created as an advertisement for Lefevre-Utile biscuits.
Sarah Bernhardt provides a handwritten testimonial for the biscuits in the
lower right hand side of the poster!