Cover art by Alfons Mucha for "La Plume" To ask Dr. Patrick Rowe to pick his favorite work by Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative graphic artist Alphonse Mucha is like asking him to pick between precious gems. “It’s like Sophie’s choice,” he chuckled. Rowe, with 122 pieces, has one of the largest personal collections of Mucha in the country, many of which are currently being shown at the Pensacola Museum of Art (PMA) as part of the “Mucha: Master of Art Nouveau” exhibit. Rowe has lived and worked in Pensacola since 1983, teaching at PSC and UWF, and spending his summers in Italy teaching for FSU and co-directing an excavation south of Florence. In 2002, he stopped excavating in order to focus on putting together shows of his growing art collection. Rowe began working on his Mucha show in 1999 and lending it to various museums shortly after. The current show 212 1
at the PMA is special because on top of Rowe’s private collection, thanks to a grant from Foo Foo Fest, the museum was able to bring in pieces from the private collection of Jack Rennert in New York, as well as the Tampa Museum of Art and the Boca Raton Museum. Rowe partnered with the museums to create an entire Mucha experience that truly captures the trajectory of the artist’s career, as well as his relationships with contemporaries and influencers. Mucha, now known as one of the major forerunners in the Art Nouveau period in Paris, was a fascinating man, and his work is imbued with a certain whimsy that is hard to dislike. While he started his career in the commercial arena, working on everything from magazine illustrations and advertisements to posters, menus, and post cards, his work is now considered to be fine art. “Mucha: Master of Art Nouveau” starts off with a section of prints by the Japanese
print artist Katsushki Hokusai, a major “Art Nouveau is complicated, beinfluence on Mucha as well as his contemcause there were actually a number of poraries, including artists Paul Gauguin and Art Nouveau styles. It probably started in Paul Cezanne. England. But (Mucha) created a vein of Art “During the late 19th century, JapaNouveau that was very different than other nese prints had a huge influence on the Art Nouveau styles, which becomes very impressionists, post-impressionists, and popular—all these people copy him.” art nouveau artists, as well, so I thought If copying is a sign of admiration, then as an introduction it would be nice to Mucha certainly had a big set of admirers, have some Japanese prints… enough so that they started their Mucha was in Paris, hangown genre of Art Nouveau, ing out with artists like called “Le Style Mucha.” Gauguin and Rodin, Mucha’s work is charthey are all in Paris acterized by his use of “This is one of the around the same pastel colors, decomost famous posters in time. They weren’t rative accents and the history of the world. To just aware of each recurring idealized have this in the show is a other, they were female figures. huge thing.” friends, and they “He was a really were definitely devout Christian, but Dr. Patrick Rowe seeing these Japahe loved to show the nese prints, espefemale figure in a really cially ones by Hokusai.” sensuous way, with flowing There is even a picture lines.” of Paul Gauguin in the show “Mucha: Master of Art cataloge, sitting in Mucha’s studio Nouveau” captures the work and and playing the harmonium with no life of Mucha in an extraordinary way, as pants on. well as the breadth of his work, including Mucha got his big break after he moved grand-scale posters alongside tiny stamps to Paris and, by chance, was commissioned that Mucha, a staunch patriot, created for to do a poster for the famous actress Sarah his native Czechoslovakia. His graphic art Bernhardt. is stunning, and his influence is still widely “What happens is she is opening a play seen today in the art world. in Paris on January 1, 1895 and the theatre Dr. Rowe finds it hard to put into words wants a poster to advertise the play, so where his devotion to Mucha comes from, they commission an artist to make one. but ultimately is quite succinct. Sarah Bernhardt looks at the poster and “It’s hard not to like Mucha. His stuff hates it, she just despises it. She says there is so beautiful. It is kind of strange, but it is absolutely no way they can use it. But it’s doesn’t take a huge amount of thought or Christmas Eve, all the artists are gone with struggle to look at it and think ‘Wow…this is their families, and the only artist around beautiful.’” {in} is Mucha. They go to Mucha and they are desperate. He agrees to make a poster, and she sees it and absolutely loves it. “ The poster hangs front and center in the show and depicts a sensuous Bernhardt in a costume of greens and blues and gold, staring off into the distance like a muse, WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 reminiscent of a Greek goddess. WHERE: Pensacola Museum of Art, “Late 19th century, early 20th century 407 S. Jefferson St. there was no one more famous than Sarah COST: Free DETAILS: pensacolamuseumofart.org Bernhardt. She was huge. “ With his benefactress lending him an exorbitant amount of visibility, Mucha’s career took off and, as an artist, he began to come into his signature style. WHEN: On display now through Jan. 2. “I think he knew this was his big WHERE: Pensacola Museum of Art, chance; that he was creating something 407 S. Jefferson St. for Sarah Bernhardt, and his genius all of a COST: General Admission: $7; Children (7-17) seniors and military $5; sudden comes out. He creates something Members and children (6 and under) free amazing. This is one of the most famous DETAILS: pensacolamuseumofart.org posters in the history of the world. To have this in the show is a huge thing.” While Mucha’s style is considered Art Nouveau, it is important to understand how broad the term is.
ARTIST TALK WITH DR. PATRICK ROWE AND WALKING GALLERY TOUR
MUCHA: MASTER OF ART NOUVEAU
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