About the work

La Plume was a monthly publication featuring poems, short stories, exhibition reviews and illustrations by avant-garde artists. Founded in 1889, La Plume quickly became one of the city’s most influential literary and artistic journals.

It has been reported that in 1897, to coincide with Mucha’s solo exhibition at the Salon des Cent, six editions of the magazine were dedicated solely to Mucha’s work and this picture appeared on the cover of the August edition. But the verso shows the date as January-February 1900, indicating either that the 1897 report was inaccurate or that the artwork was reused in 1900.

This picture portrays a red-haired woman holding a large feather reaches beyond the frame of the composition. The feather belongs to Pegasus who inhabits the entire background with his stylized blue wings. The dark blue backdrop beyond is set with six-pointed stars. In Mucha’s typical late Belle Époque style, seamlessly blending allegorical portraiture with sinuous Art Nouveau ornament.

Attributes	Value
Medium	Painting
Date	1970-1980
Signing, Dating, and Titling	Signed and titled by the artist en verso
Framing	Custom framed and matted
Condition	Excellent Condition
Type	Paintings, Washington Artists