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this is so god damned frustrating
His master ful g raphic work continues
to charm new generations. Mucha was
the Andy Warhol of the belle poque.
Mark Favermann
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Most people, artists especially, know the iconic images from
Alphonse Muchas illustrations: a beautiful, seductive woman,
surrounded by owing lines, and elaborate decoration. These
kinds of illustrations have made it far from the artists original
workshop. They are used in ads, copied in art, and became
wildly popular (for the second time) around the 1960s, long
after Mucha had died and the art Nouveau movement had
ended. But while his illustrations are so easily recognizable,
people often refer to his artwork simply as Art Nouveau,
rather than naming the ar tist that had such an impact on the
movement. Mucha was a big part of Art Nouveau, but he did
not make the movement himself, nor did he even aim to be
identied with it in the rst place. Its odd that so many people
(like myself, until last year) can see and know his work, without
ever knowing the name of the ar tist, and here I would like to
offer and introduction.
Alphonse Mucha was an artist in Paris, starting in the late
1880s, but he was born in 1860 in what is now the Czech
Republic. As a child, he was a choirboy and a musician. Hisfather was a court usher and at the age of 15, he was given a
job at home, to work as a clerk. But Mucha was drawn to ar t
despite his fathers wishes. In 1878 he applied to the Prague
academy of ne ar ts, and he was turned down. The next year,
Mucha began to travel across Europe. He rst went to Vienna
where he found a job as a scene painter, then to Milukov where
he made a living painting portraits. There he met Count Khuen
Belasi, who commissioned him as a decorator. In 1883, the
counts brother decided to become Muchas patron, and two
years later Mucha was able to attend the Munich Academy of
Art. With the help of his patron Mucha moved to Paris in 1887,
where he began his rise to popularity.
Moet & Chandon
Wine Labels, 1897
A popular example of
Muchas iconic style
ALPHONSE MUCHA Photograph of AlphonseMarie Mucha,.1897
1 Alphonse Mucha 2
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Mucha spent two years in two different schools in Paris,
the Acad emie J ulian and the Academie Colaro ssi, bef ore
his sponsorship ended, and he began to look for work as
an illustrator. He lived above a cremerie, and he made little
money, from the magazine illustrations he made. He got
sick, living on cheap food. But Mucha found his big break in
1894, commissioned for a poster for Sarah Bernhardts play,
Gismonda. The poster was an elongated piece, a full figure
illustration of Bernhardt, a proud and beautiful woman, with
elaborate decorations and patterns inspired by Byzantine
mosaics. The Gismonda poster was the work that began
Muchas new stylethe iconic style that seems to dene the
words art nouveau.
Bernhardt made a contract with Mucha after the rst poster
so he would continue to design for her for six years and the
Champenois printing rm began to print Muchas posters. The
next year they published Muchas first decorative four-panel
work, and what is now one of his most popular, The Seasons.
By 1897, Mucha has several one-man exhibitions lined up, allwith hundreds of works to show, and he has a feature in the
Salon des Cent symbolist group magazine, La Plume. In 1898,
he begins to give dr awing lessons at the Acadmie Carmen, and
the next year, he worked with the Austro-Hunga rian pavilion
and the Bosnia and Herzegovina pavilion for the 1900 Paris
International Exhibition. He took a research trip to the Balkans
Gismonda with Actress
Sarah Bernhardt, 1897
It was everything an artists life was
supposed to be. Some success,
some failure.
Jim Vadeboncoeur jr.
A Portrait of his
daughter, Jaroslava, 1925
3 Alphonse Mucha 4
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for the commission, and it is there where he was rst inspired
to pa int the S lav Epic, a tri bute to Sl avic histo ry and what he
considered to be his masterpiece, which he would make from
1910 to 1928. The 1900 Exhibition gave Mucha worldwide
recognition, and he was appointed a knight of the order of
Emperor Franz Joseph the same year.
It was in 1903 when Alphonse Mucha met the woman who
would later become his wife. He had been teaching at the
Academie Colarossi, when a Czech woman by the name of
Maruka Chytilov came to him to study art. Mucha took four
trips to America between then and when they were mar ried,
for commissions, teaching, and exhibitions. Before another trip
abroad in 1906, he married Maruska in Prague, and they left
for America together, where they would start a family on
Muchas teaching income from various art schools in the US.
Their daughter, Jaroslava, was born in 1909, in New York.
The next year, Mucha began to work on the Slav epic in Prague,
sponsored by Charles Crane, who he met in 1904. The series
outlined the history of the Slavic and Czech people, focusing on
themes of Slavic p ride, un ity, religion, and the war s of the Slavic
peoples past. He worked on it for an entire sixteen years. His
son Jiri was born in 1915, while he was still only beginning his
great series. In 1918 Czechoslovakia became an independent
state and Mucha designed their postage stamps and Banknotes.
Age of Wisdom , 1936
Holy Mount Athos, 1926
The Hussite King Jiri of
Podebrad, 1923
The Slav Epic:
The Printing of the Bible
of Kralice in Ivancice,
1914
They looked at it as
a work whose ideas
and intentions were
out of tune with the
time of its origin. Butthey were aware
of the sincerity and
the honest effort
that went into the
creation of the whole
series. It came to be
viewed as one of
those controversial
artistic errors which
make us feel both
respect and pity...
Jiri Mucha, onThe
Slav Epic
5 Alphonse Mucha 6
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It wasnt until 1928 that the Slav Epic was ofcially complete, after
years of t ravel and study. The 20 paintings were presented to the
Czech people and to the city of Prague. Mucha slowed down
after the mixed reception to what he considered his nest work,
becoming sick ten years later, and stopping work on his last multi-
panel piece , The Ages of Reason , Wisdom, and Love, to write
his memoirs. Shortly before his death, Mucha was ar rested by the
Gestapo when the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939. (An
artist, and promoter of peace and Slavic pride, He was seen as
an enemy to the Nazis.) His interrogation worsened his health
but he was released later that year, and died in Prague, on July
14th.
Muchas Slav Epic was hidden away during World War II, to
protect it from the war, but once it was certain the work would
be safe, the Communist Government in Czechoslovakia after
the war had no interest in Muchas work. The epic was passed
to Moravsky Krumlov in 1950, but the entirety of the series was
not publicly exhibited again until 1967, and the current location
isnt widely known. Alphonse Mucha was wholly proud of hishuge painting series, but the rest of the world never seemed
to sh are h is en thus iasm. In fact , while Mucha was immense ly
popular for his commercial work, he worked hard to try to
separate himself from the art nouveau movement. The Slav
Epic was an example of his devotion not only to his home,
but also to fine art as opposed to the decorative, flourishingThe Four Flowers:Iris, 1897
designs of his commissioned work. Rejected from art school at
the sta rt, and known only for h is poster illus trations, he felt for
years that he wasnt respected as an artist. Alphonse Muchas
posters had always gained a lot of attention. The work, when
he started producing it, was new and embraced the era. But
there wasn t anything vi siona ry about his p ainti ngs. There a re
those who see the slav epic as a masterpiece, not because it was
Muchas greatest work, but because it was a dedicated, beautiful
visual history of t he Slavic people, but what Mucha will always
be known for, to his own disappointment, will always be his
commercial prints: illustrations that started to get old, the longer
he made them.
The Art nouveau movement started to come to an end
around the 1930s. By that time, Muchas fame had started
to dwindle. His work was sti ll beautifu l and cheris hed, but it
wasnt new. By the time of his death, he was no longer the
big hit he had been before. But I believe Alphonse Mucha
did have the respect of the artistic community. He was a
poor artist in Paris, and I dont think anyone can blame him forbecoming known for commercial work. In fact, the Art Noveau
revival that happened in the 1960s and 70s proves that Muchas
work would always be celebrated, if not for the reasons he
would have liked. Muchas work remains famous to this day.
While many people may not know his name, hi s illu strat ions
are iconic and so often mimicked that it is clear Alphonse
Mucha had a place in the world of art.
Girl with a Rose, above,
and Girl with a Pigeon,opposite page,
Early 20th century
By the 1890s,
Muchas delicately
sensuous style had
become synonymous
with French Art
Nouveau
Alphonse Mucha: The spirit
of art Noveau, The NortonMuseum of Art
7 Alphonse Mucha 8
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La Samaritaine Poster, 1897 Lorenzaccio Poster, 1897 Medee Poster, 1897 La Tosca Poster, 1897
9 Alphonse Mucha 10
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He submits without
argument, as he
himself says, to
the commands
of this watchful,
protective force
which propels him
through life as if he
were sleepwalking,
placing before his
feet at decisive
moments the stops
to success.
Victor Champier,
quoting Mucha
Job Cigarette
advertisements, top right
and opposite page, 1897
Biscuits Lefevre Utile calendar,
to the r ight,1896
11 Alphonse Mucha
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Exposition universelle &
internationale de St. Louis
(Etats-Unis)advertisement,
1904
La Plume Zodiac
calendar, 1897
Bleu Deschamps
advertisement, ca. 1897
13 Alphonse Mucha 14
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La Trappistine sketch and
nished advertisement,
1897
The four Seasons,
between1880-1910For the life-size gures of his Bernhardt posters
Mucha chose an extremely elongated shape,
and in contrast to other poster designers
he used ver y pale colourswhites, beiges,
mauves, dull purples, reds and greens, with
decorative touches of gold and silver. His
unusual posters were uniquely appropriate
to the famous actress of whom Charles Hiatt
wrote that she had the ability to touch even
a classical French drama with the oriental,
the strange and the exotic.
Anna Dvorak
15 Alphonse Mucha
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Nature, 1900
Ilsee, Princess de Tripoli
book illustration, top
left,1897
Peacockdecoration panelfor a jeweler, opposite
page, 1901
It is good to cultivate tradition in art, but at
the same time . . . the tradition must be that
of the art of your ancestors and one mustwish to conserve life by helping forward
its organic evolution
Alphonse Mucha
17 Alphonse Mucha 18
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The Celebration of
Svantovit, 1912
Jan Milic of Kromeriz,1917
The Bulgarian Tsar Simeon,
1923
Meeting at Krizky, 1916
More From The Slav Epic:
The Bohemian King
Premysl Otakar II,1924
Works Cited
Michle Lavalle. Mucha, Alphonse. Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 12 Feb.
2012.
Mucha, Alphonse A Dictionar y of Modern and Contemporary Art by Ian Chilvers and John
Glaves-Smith. Oxford University Press Inc. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University
Press. Seatt le Public Library. 12 Feb 2012 http:/ /www.oxfordrefe rence.co m/views/E NTRY.
html?subview=Main&entry=t5.e1849
Vadeboncoeur, Jim. Alphonse Mucha. Bpib.com. JVJ Publishing, 1999. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
.
Johnston , Ian. An Introductio n to the Work of Alphonse Mu cha and Ar t Nouvea u. Lecture.
Kunstpedia.com. Kunstpedia, 17 Apr. 2008. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. .
Mucha Museum. Alphonse Mucha Biography. Mucha.cz. Mucha Museum, 2002. Web. 12 Feb.
2012. .
Favermann, Mark. Siren Song: The Art Of Alphonse Mucha. Art New England 21.2 (2000): 21.
Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
Alphonse Mucha: The Spirit Of Art Nouveau: Nort on Museum Of Ar t, West Palm Beach,
Florida. Drawing 20.2 (1998): 60. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 12 Feb. 2012.
Describing the glorious and tragic
events in its history, I thought of the
joys and sorrows of my own countr y
and of all the Slavs.
Alphonse Mucha
19 Alphonse Mucha 20
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