This striking lithographic program was created by Paul Sérusier, the visionary Nabi painter and theoretician, for the 1896 performance of Hérakléa, a classical-inspired drama by Auguste Villeroy. The play was staged at Théâtre de l’Œuvre, the Parisian cradle of Symbolist theatre under Lugné-Poe.
Sérusier’s illustration combines mythological grandeur with a flat, symbolic style that echoes his roots in Cloisonnism and Synthetism, movements inspired by Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School. In bold red tones printed on a delicate ochre ground, the composition depicts an imagined classical landscape: fortified citadels, ancient ships at sea, and helmeted warriors marching through undulating terrain—setting the mythic tone for the drama to follow.
The typography is hand-rendered and seamlessly integrated into the image, with titles, cast, and editorial notes becoming part of the visual rhythm. Notably, the name L’Œuvre is inscribed at the top in a stylized, personal script alongside the theatre’s administrative address, grounding the work in the bohemian fabric of Montmartre’s literary avant-garde.
More than just a program, this is a total artwork: a fusion of text and image, aesthetic manifesto and theatrical ephemera. Sérusier’s participation marked a moment when modern visual artists actively collaborated with writers and performers to craft immersive, symbolically rich experiences. This effort to create a unified art form—l’art total—was central to the spirit of the Théâtre de l’Œuvre.
Printed by E. Verneau, one of the great lithographic ateliers of the Belle Époque, this piece survives as both an artifact of experimental theatre and a rare print by one of Post-Impressionism’s most intellectually ambitious artists.
Today, it is celebrated not only for its rarity but also as a vital expression of Symbolist modernism, where visual and dramatic arts converged to reshape the cultural avant-garde.
Theater - Avant-Garde
Ref : Aitken 81
Good condition, slight creases, slight losses
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