Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli: Légende du Moyen-age

Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli: Légende du Moyen-age
Book by Robert de Flers (1872–1927) with colour lithographs by Mucha, published by H. Piazza & Cie,
Paris, 1897

The great success of the play La Princesse lointaine led to the publication of a novelised version under the title, Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli, in 1897. From the design of the Sarah Bernhardt poster shown here, Mucha created a stylised image of the actress’s head with a diadem of lilies and used it as an emblem on the title page of the book; this iconic image of the actress was later to inspire other designers’ works featuring the actress.