'Bénédictine shows two girls pressing flowers amid book leaves, to remind us of the herbs that go into making the liqueur; the bottom part of the poster has a panorama...
"Bénédictine shows two girls pressing flowers amid book leaves, to remind us of the herbs that go into making the liqueur; the bottom part of the poster has a panorama of the Fecamp Abbey where the drink originated. Around 1510, one of the monks, Dom Bernardo Vincelli, prepared a liqueur using local wine and native herbs found in nearby woods, together with a few imported ingredients including muscat, ginger, clove and cardamom" (Wine Spectator, 70).
Alphonse Mucha was a painter and decorative artist best known for the sensual Art Nouveau paintings, posters, and advertisements that came to define Art Nouveau in fin de siècle Paris. In 1887, after periods of employment in Vienna and Moravia, and studies in Munich and Paris, Mucha began to support himself producing magazine and advertising illustrations. Eventually he gained fame by creating a poster for a play featuring Sarah Bernhardt, in the role of Gismonda. It was the first of many of his depictions of voluptuous women seductively posed and draped in sheer, clinging gowns. They are generally set off by sinuous hair, turgid vines, and bountiful flowers, all distinctly outlined in the manner of Japanese woodcuts. The coiled eroticism of Mucha’s compositions created a lush and sensuous beauty that was admired and imitated by both collectors and artists alike.