Sarah Bernhardt played the male character of Lorenzo de' Medici in Alfred de Musset's Romantic tragedy of 1834.

Set in 16th-century Florence, the plot tells of how Lorenzo de' Medici kills Florence's tyrant, Alessandro de' Medici, depicted by Mucha as a snaring dragon menacing the coat of arms of the city of Florence in the upper part of the poster. Bernhardt, portrayed face on, contemplates the murder, symbolised by a dagger piercing the tyrannous dragon at the foot of the poster. The background is reminiscent of Florentine velvet.