Paul Berthon 1901 "Queen Wilhelmina" Art Nouveau Lithograph — Framed, Heritage Galleries Provenance

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Original 1901 Art Nouveau color lithograph by Paul Berthon (French, 1872-1909), titled "Queen Wilhelmina" — the young Dutch queen in … Read more Original 1901 Art Nouveau color lithograph by Paul Berthon (French, 1872-1909), titled "Queen Wilhelmina" — the young Dutch queen in profile, wearing an elaborate traditional lace headdress, with stylized tulips and windmills behind her. Signed "Paul Berthon" in the stone at upper left. Presented under glass with a wide mat in a giltwood frame. The reverse bears labels identifying the artist and title, together with Heritage Galleries inventory labels. Work size approximately 18.25" x 15.75"; framed approximately 31" x 26". An original period 1901 impression by one of Alphonse Mucha's great Art Nouveau contemporaries — a museum-caliber wall piece.

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The story behind the print:

This 1901 color lithograph by Paul Berthon (1872–1909) is less a poster than a state portrait in disguise. Berthon — pupil of Eugène Grasset and, with Grasset and Alphonse Mucha, one of the three artists who defined the Art Nouveau woman — depicts the young Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in profile, and every detail is a national symbol: the traditional Dutch white lace cap, the yellow badge bearing a crowned "W," yellow poppies, and behind her a dark sea with the silhouettes of a windmill and a church spire.

Wilhelmina became queen at ten years old in 1890 and was married in February 1901, the year of this print. She reigned for nearly 58 years, through both World Wars, broadcasting to occupied Holland from exile in London — Churchill reportedly called her the only real man among the governments-in-exile.

Berthon set himself apart from other poster artists of the era: most of his lithographs carried no advertising and no lettering at all. He called them "panneaux décoratifs" — decorative panels meant to stand alone as works of art. He died in Paris in 1909 at just 36, leaving only 94 original lithographs — a small, closed body of work.

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