Biscuits Lefèvre-Utile

1894

First official recognition at the 1894 Salon

Four of his illustrations for Seignobos’s book, including one depicting the death of Frederick Barbarossa, were chosen for display at the 1894 Paris Salon of Artists; he received a medal of honour, his first official recognition.

autumn 1894

Friendship with August Strindberg

In late autumn 1894 he became friends with the playwright August Strindberg, with whom he shared interests in philosophy and mysticism.

26 December 1894

Sarah Bernhardt orders the poster for “Gismonda”

Bernhardt telephoned Maurice de Brunhoff of the publishing firm Lemercier, ordering a poster for the continued run of Sardou’s “Gismonda” by 1 January 1895; because of the holidays none of the regular Lemercier artists was available, and Mucha, who happened to be at the firm correcting proofs, took the job.

1 January 1895

The “Gismonda” poster appears on the streets of Paris

The poster, a little over two metres high, with Bernhardt as a Byzantine noblewoman under a rainbow-shaped arch almost like a halo, appeared on the streets of Paris on 1 January 1895 and caused an immediate sensation; Bernhardt ordered four thousand copies in 1895 and 1896 and gave Mucha a six-year contract.

after 1 January 1895

A contract with the printer Champenois and a new studio

Bernhardt switched to a different printer, F. Champenois, who, like Mucha, was put under a six-year contract to work for her and gave Mucha a generous monthly salary in exchange for the rights to publish all his works. With the extra income Mucha moved to a three-bedroom apartment with a large studio in a historic house at 6 Rue du Val-de-Grâce.

1897

Retrospective at the Salon des Cent: 448 works

Léon Deschamps, the editor of La Plume, invited him to show at the Salon des Cent in 1896, and in 1897 the same gallery gave him a major retrospective of 448 works; the magazine La Plume devoted a special issue to him, and the exhibition travelled to Vienna, Prague, Munich, Brussels, London and New York, giving him an international reputation.