Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) Job. Poster. 1898. Lithograph. Subject: 920x1400mm [canvas: 1045x1540mm]. Rennert and Weill 51. Printed in full color. A very fine proof on thin ivory vellum, very freshly colored, carefully interfaced and restored. Fine vertical tear in the upper part down to the model's hair, with old traces of oxidized adhesive. Another oblique tear in the lower part, reaching the model's foot. Several pieces of reinforcing paper at the edges of the subject on verso. The letters "IM" printed on a glued piece of paper complete the "imp. Champenois...". Small perceptible fractures, notably in the J of "JOB". An immigrant to Paris, Czechoslovakian artist Alphonse Mucha was commissioned in 1894 to design a poster depicting actress Sarah Bernhardt in Gismonda, which was to lay the foundations of Art Nouveau, with its arabesques and floral motifs. Four years later, with this poster for Job cigarette paper (the second he produced on this theme), Mucha reached the pinnacle of his art, placing the female figure at the center of a circular motif that resembled a target and a halo, playing with the disproportionate volutes of her hair, echoing those of the cigarette smoke that billowed like a silk veil - at the same time, Loïe Fuller also caused a sensation with her serpentine veil dance. Sold in partnership with Maître Basile Valetoux, auctioneer, 35 rue des Chantiers, 78000 Versailles.