The Art of MUCHA

   

The Czech born Alfons Mucha (1860-1939) was an artist and illustrator of the Nouveau style. 

{ above:  portrait of the artist as a man. }

Best known for his Slav Epic - a series of twenty huge paintings depicting the history of Slavic and Czech peoples - he was a prolific (as well as specific) in his output.

 

{ above:  Cycles of the Slav Epic in their varying styles; the original models posing for Mucha's Epic. }

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Mr. Mucha funded his formative schooling by use of his voice, and specifically singing, which he was quite skilled at.
Drawing was ever his passion, however, and eventually he moved to Paris to continue his studies; it was in that ancient city that he first saw a poster advertising a play staring Sarah Bernhardt (around 1894).  Mucha was so inspired by the aesthetics of that poster that within two weeks he had designed a poster of his own, and shortly there-after he'd attained a six-year contract with Bernhardt herself.

Alfons Mucha's success only sky-rocketed from there, and, though he would eventually lament his status as a commercial artist -- wishing instead he could use the medium to communicate a more spiritual message -- he continued to produce picture upon picture until his death on Bastille Day in his home of Prague, at the age of 79.

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More than just painting, Alfons Mucha also designed incredibly gorgeous jewelry in collaboration with designer George Fouquet, and worn by the likes of Sarah Bernhardt.

 

 

In 1901, Mucha designed their Paris jewelry store
… a masterpiece in its own right!

 

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{ the artist. }

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[ find mucha more Mucha here and here ]

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