During an exhibition at Galerie Denise René in 1962, Sonia Delaunay exhibited 43 gouaches and published the portfolio Poésie de mots, poésie de couleurs where her work illustrated poetry by Mallarmé, Rimbaud, Cendrars, Delteil and Soupault. Printed and painted at the studio of MPD, one of the greatest stencil printers of the period and are amongst the finest prints the artist produced. The Poésie de Mots series includes six individually hand-painted gouache stencil compositions. Because of the brush application of the thick gouache paint, the stroke effects of the color are beautifully unique.