Alphonse Mucha Lorenzaccio Lithograph

This striking theater poster was created by Alphonse Mucha for Lorenzaccio, a play by Alfred de Musset set in 16th-century Florence and centered on the powerful Medici family. Sarah Bernhardt starred in the titular role. The poster depicts Lorenzaccio in a moment of contemplation, weighing the decision to assassinate his cousin, Alessandro de Medici, who is shown besieging the city. Hovering above, a dragon symbolizes Alessandro himself; near its mouth appears the Medici coat of armsfive red balls arranged in orle (gules) on a gold field. In the bottom panel, just above the theater’s name, an ornate, jewel-encrusted sword offers a visual metaphor for Lorenzaccios grim solution.