Alphonse Mucha: Princess Hyacinth (1911)

(Mucha Museum, Prague,  Czech Republic)

This famous poster by Mucha was for the ballet 'Princezna Hyacinta' (or Princess Hyacinth) by the Czech composer Oskar Nedbal. The person on the poster is the actress Andula Sedláčková who starred in the title role. In the ballet, a village blacksmith dreams that his daughter becomes the Princess Hyacinth and that she is abducted by a sorcerer. The aura incorporates items from the plot of the ballet: hearts, the blacksmit's tools (a hammer), a crown and instruments of sorcery, together with the use of the hyacinth motif throughout the poster. Painting from 1911.