La Samaritaine – Alphonse Mucha, 1897
“Theatre de la Renaissance | Sarah Bernhardt | La Samaritaine” Color lithograph after a design by Alphonse Mucha, printed by F. Champenois in Paris and published between 1897-1900 as part of “Les Maîtres de l’Affiche” by Imprimerie Chaix. Signed in the print lower right. Dimensions: (image) 34.2 × 11 cm; (frame) 53.5 × 28 cm.
La Samaritaine is a play written by Edmond Rostand, based on the Gospel story of the Samaritan woman at the well. It centers on Photine, a young woman with a troubled past, who comes to draw water and encounters Jesus. In their conversation, he reveals her past and speaks of the “living waters” of faith. Moved by his words, she repents and urges the townspeople to come and meet him as well.
The final scene shows their arrival and the powerful effect of his message. Rostand portrays the inner transformation of a sinner into a believer as a journey of spiritual purification and hope. The language is poetic and imbued with gentle spirituality. The play was written especially for Sarah Bernhardt, who portrayed Photine with restrained brilliance.
La Samaritaine premiered during Easter 1897 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris. The production was visually grand, with lavish Biblical costumes and sets, and original incidental music composed by Gabriel Pierné. It was immediately well received by both audiences and critics and became a regular part of Bernhardt’s repertoire. The critic Émile Faguet praised it as a “triumph of tenderness, and of emotion full and sweet with religious sensitivity”. Apparently even the cast had tears in their eyes as the final curtain fell.
As a celebrated actress, Sarah Bernhardt consistently promoted her performances with artistic posters. The young Czech artist Alphonse Mucha (1860–1936) designed seven now-iconic theatre posters for her between 1894 and 1900. The tall, altar-like format of La Samaritaine—with Bernhardt portrayed not unlike a saint—perfectly suited her image as “la Divine Sarah,” the divine star of the Belle Époque. The present print is a reduced version of that original large-format poster, issued as part of Les Maîtres de l’Affiche: publication mensuelle contenant la reproduction des plus belles affiches illustrées des grands artistes.
Nearly 130 years later, Mucha’s La Samaritaine remains a landmark in the history of Art Nouveau poster art.
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