Alphonse Maria Mucha Aesthetic Values in Art & Craftsmanship
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Table of Contents chapter 1 .................................................... Upbringing & Education 1 chapter 2 .....................................................................Early Works 6 chapter 3 ................................................. Relationships & Influences 12 chapter 4 .......................................................... Lithography Works 20 chapter 5 .................................................................. Art Nouveau 28 chapter 6 ..................................................... International Exposure 38 chapter 7 .................................................................The Slav Epic 48 chapter 8 ................................................Legacy of a Modern Legend 40 references ..............................................................Credits, Index 70
Self Portrait 1899.
Chapter 1 Upbringing & Education
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 1
Alphonse Maria Mucha alphonse maria mucha was born in the town of ivancice, Moravia (today’s region of Czech Republic). His singing abilities allowed him to continue his education through high school in the Moravian capital of Brünn (today Brno), even though drawing had been his first love since childhood. He worked at decorative painting jobs in Moravia, mostly painting theatrical scenery, then in 1879 moved to Vienna to work for a leading Viennese theatrical design company, while informally furthering his artistic education. When a fire destroyed his employer’s business in 1881 he returned to Moravia, doing freelance decorative and portrait painting. Count Karl Khuen of Mikulov hired Mucha to decorate Hrusovany Emmahof Castle with murals, and was impressed enough that he agreed to sponsor Mucha’s formal training at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. mucha moved to paris in 1887, and continued his studies at Académie Julian and Académie Colarossi while also producing magazine and advertising illustrations. Around Christmas 1894, Mucha happened to drop into a print shop where there was a sudden and unexpected demand for a new poster to advertise a play starring Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress in Paris, at the Théatre de la Renaissance on the Boulevard Saint-Martin. Mucha volunteered to produce a lithographed poster within two weeks, and on 1 January 1895, the advertisement for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou appeared on the streets of the city. It was an overnight sensation and announced the new artistic style and its creator to the citizens of Paris. Bernhardt was so satisfied with the success of that first poster that she entered into a 6 years contract with Mucha.
Upbringing & Education
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mucha produced a flurry of paintings, posters, advertisements, and book illustrations, as well as designs for jewellery, carpets, wallpaper, and theatre sets in what was initially called the Mucha Style but became known as Art Nouveau (French for ‘new art’). Mucha’s works frequently featured beautiful healthy young women in flowing vaguely Neoclassical looking robes, often surrounded by lush flowers which sometimes formed haloes behind the women’s heads. In contrast with contemporary poster makers he used paler pastel colors. The 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris spread the “Mucha style” internationally, of which Mucha said “I think [the Exposition Universelle] made some contribution toward bringing aesthetic values into arts and crafts.” He decorated the Bosnia and Herzegovina Pavilion and collaborated in the Austrian Pavilion. His Art Nouveau style was often imitated. However, this was a style that Mucha attempted to distance himself from throughout his life; he insisted always, rather than adhering to any fashionable stylistic form, his paintings came purely from within and Czech art. He declared that art existed only to communicate a spiritual message, nothing more; hence his frustration at the fame he gained through commercial art, when he wanted always to concentrate on more lofty projects that would ennoble art and his birthplace.
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 1
mucha married maruska (marie/maria) chytilová on june 10, 1906, in Prague. The couple visited the U.S. from 1906 to 1910, when their daughter, Jaroslava, was born in New York City. They also had a son, Jiri, born on March 12, 1915 in Prague - April 5, 1991 in Prague) who later became a well known journalist, writer, screenwriter, author of autobiographical novels and studies of the works of his father. There he expected to earn money to fund his nationalistic projects to demonstrate to Czechs that he had not “sold out.” He was supported by millionaire Charles R. Crane, who applied his fortune to promote revolutions, and after meeting Thomas Masaryk, Slavic nationalism. The family then returned to the Czech lands and settled in Prague, where he decorated the Theater of Fine Arts, contributed the murals in the Mayor’s Office at the Municipal House, and other landmarks of the city. When Czechoslovakia won its independence after World War I, Mucha designed the new postage stamps, banknotes, and other government documents for the new state. mucha was famous for his commercial posters, which had a wide audience, but he also worked in a variety of other media, including furniture, jewelry, and theatrical sets. He mostly worked in Vienna and Paris, but was also in Chicago, where he taught at the Art Institute, from 1904 to 1910. There, he introduced his interpretation of the “new art” to a United States audience. The densely patterned posters epitomize the Art Nouveau interest in natural forms, decoration, and a rejection of the anonymity of mechanical production.
Upbringing & Education
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women were a common theme in mucha’s work (and in art Nouveau art in general). The femme nouvelle or “new woman” type was a favorite subject, since it served both allegorical and decorative purposes. Indeed, Mucha and his peers celebrated femininity as the antidote to an overly-industrialized, impersonal, “masculine” world. mucha worked in a variety of media that were accessible to a wide audience, and so the reach of his art extended beyond the borders of “high art.” Everything could be a work of art, encompassing a person’s daily experience, from wallpaper to furniture to clothing to promotional posters around the city. although mucha is most associated with his art nouveau posters, he spent the latter of half of his career focused on projects of a nationalist character. Stirred by a pride in his country and an interest in its artistic traditions, Mucha sought to celebrate the history and mores of Czech culture.
Chapter 2 Early Works
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Le Pater
Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 2
mucha considered le pater his printed masterpiece, and referred to it in the January 5, 1900 issue of The Sun Newspaper (New York) as the thing he had “put [his] soul into.” Printed on December 20, 1899, Le Pater was Mucha’s occult examination of the themes of The Lord’s Prayer and only 510 copies were produced. He spent many years working on what he considered his fine art masterpiece, The Slav Epic (Slovanská epopej), a series of twenty huge paintings depicting the history of the Czech and the Slavic peoples in general, bestowed to the city of Prague in 1928. He had dreamt of completing a series such as this, a celebration of Slavic history, since he was young. Since 1963 the series has been on display in the chateau at Moravsky Krumlovat the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic.
Mucha considered Le Pater his printed masterpiece, and referred to it in the January 5, 1900 issue of The Sun Newspaper (New York) as the thing he had “put [his] soul into.” Printed on December 20, 1899, Le Pater was Mucha’s occult examination of the themes of The Lord’s Prayer and only 510 copies were produced.
Dance, 1898.
Chapter 3 Relationships & Influences
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 3
it was something of a fairytale; mucha met sarah bernhardt – the glorified star of French theater – in 1894 on Christmas Eve. Fresh out of the Académie Julian, Mucha was working as an illustrator for Parisian printer Lemercier, when Bernhard – ‘La Divine’ – came in. She was in desperate need of somebody to design a poster for her new show Gismonda. Since all of Lemercier’s artists were home for Christmas, Mucha rose to the occasion and created his first poster. Upon its release, Mucha’s interpretation of Bernhardt was the talk of the town – and earned the young artist a six-year contract with the actress. His subsequent partnership with Bernhardt, who was at the high point of her career, transformed Mucha’s life. with the industrial revolution underway, printing techniques became more sophisticated. By the early 19th century, the streets of Paris were dotted with posters. The medium gained popularity and respect, and was used as a means of commercialization. Alphonse Mucha, following his success with Bernhardt, emerged as its shining star. With his new status came new commissions, especially from the luxury industry; Champenois, Moët & Chandon, Job, and Nestlé. Capturing the essence of the fin-de-siècle spirit, Mucha soon became an internationally recognized artist, expanding his unique style to paintings, jewelry, and interior design. He had an important influence on the development of decorative aesthetic Art Nouveau – although Mucha didn’t identify with the term.
Relationships & Influences
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Lance Parfum “Rodo� 1896
many of mucha’s posters, including his works for sarah Bernhardt, focus on one or more female characters that are glorified in their sensuality. With a passion for details the artist worked in gold and silver, adorning his works with organic themes and the memories of his native land as his principle inspiration.
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 3
Poster for Victorien Sardou’s Gismonda starring Sarah Bernhardt at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris , 1894.
Timeline of Alphonse Maria Mucha 1860
Born in Ivanice in Southern Moravia on 24th July.
1879
Goes to Vienna to work as a theatrical scene painter.
1883
Invited by Count Khuen-Belassi to decorate his castle at Emmahof in Austria.
1885
Begins studies at the Münich Academy of Arts, sponsored by Count Khuen-Belassi.
1887
Moves to Paris to study at the Académie Julian.
1892
Commissioned to illustrate “Scenés et épisodes de l'histoire d'Allemagne” by Charles Seignobos.
1894
Designs his first poster for Sarah Bernhardt, Gismonda, a play by Victor Sardou. This success leads to a six year contract with “la divine Sarah.”
Relationships & Influences
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Cover design by Alphonse Mucha for the Christmas edition 1896 of ‘Le Gaulois’ magazine.
1896
Mucha’s first decorative panels “The Four Seasons” are printed.
1897
February: first one man exhibition at the Bodiniére Gallery, Paris, showing 107 works, followed in May by the Salon des Cent’s Mucha exhibition, which shows 448 works.
1899
Receives commission from the Austro-Hungarien Government for the
1900
Paris Universal Exhibition.
1900
Begins to work on designs for Georges Fouquet’s jewellery shop, one of the outstanding Art Nouveau interiors.
1902
Publishes “Documents Décoratifs,” a hand book for craftsmen.
1905
“Figures Décoratives” is published.
1906
Mucha moves to America, where he teaches and paints many oil portraits.
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 3
1910
Returns to Prague to work on the “Slav Epic.”
1911
Completes the murals for the Prague Town Hall (Obecní dum), the last major interior decoration in the Art Nouveau style in Prague.
1918
The independent state of Czechoslovakia is created. Mucha designs postage stamps and bank notes.
1921
Successful exhibition of Mucha’s work at the Brooklyn Museum, New York.
1928
The complete cycle of the “Slav Epic” is officially presented to the Czech people and the City of Prague.
1931
Commissioned to design a stained glass window for the St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague.
Relationships & Influences
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“The Celebration of Svantovit” 1912, The Slav Epic took Mucha 18 years to complete, during which time World War I saw the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of the new nation of Czechoslovakia with Prague as its capital.
1939
Mucha is among the first to be arrested by the Gestapo when the Germans invade Czechoslovakia. He is allowed to return home but his health is impaired by the ordeal. 14. July, Mucha dies in Prague and is buried at Vyšehrad cemetery.
Chapter 4 Lithography Works
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 4
Chocolat Masson and Chocolat Mexicain Annual Calendar, 1897.
Lithography Works
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 4
Chocolat Masson and Chocolat Mexicain Seasons, 1897.
Lithography Works
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Chapter 5 Art Nouveau
Biscuits Champagne Lefevre Utile 1896.
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 5
Art Nouveau
Above: Job, 1896. Opposite: Nestlé’s Food for Infants, 1897.
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Dance, 1898.
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 5
Various works for Theatre de la Renaissance featuring Sarah Bernhardt, 1895.
Art Nouveau
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Chapter 6 International Exposure
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 6
original design sketch for a pendant watch for the famed French jeweler Georges Fouquet (1862-1957), possibly for presentation at the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Published in Art et Decoration Vol. VII (1900), pg. 130 as “Dessin de Montre” and republished for a US audience in Vanity Fair in May 1901. Black ink heightened with gouache on cream paper. Dimensions: Sheet size 12.13 inches in height, by 8.5 inches in width. Illustration detail / visible size 7.75 inches in height, by 2.5 inches wide. Provenance: Jiri Mucha Collection/Library “Zumelecké Pozustalosti / Alphonse Mucha” stamp, numbered 248. For the Colletti Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, 2007. Louis Daniel Brodsky Collection of Art Nouveau, Chicago, Illinois, 2015. mucha and fouquet collaborated for a short period from 1899 to 1901. At a time when the emphasis had been on precious stones in traditional settings usually derived from the Louis XVI period, Fouquet and Mucha together redefined fine jewelry design, espousing the belief that the beauty of a jewel depends on its artistic conception. Materials were chosen for their contribution to the overall design, not for their intrinsic value. mucha conceived a spectacular series of elaborate jewels to be executed by Fouquet in his Paris atelier. Those objects formed the centerpiece of Fouquet’s display at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. In 1901, he asked Mucha to carry out an idea that he had kept in mind for a number of years: Fouquet wanted new premises in which the interior decoration harmonized with the jewelry he was creating. By the end of the year, he had moved his business to the Rue Royale, where the interiors were of unparalleled Art Nouveau sumptuousness.
“Dessin de Montre” Jewelry Design Illustration for Georges Fouquet, 1900.
the mucha designed interiors for fouquet’s atelier were preserved and are visible for touring at the Musée Carnavalet, 23 rue de Sévigné, 75003 Paris.
Prophetess 1896.
“Four Seasons” Stained Glass Driehaus Museum, 1899.
Boutique Fouquet, 1899.
Chapter 7 The Slav Epic
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 7
Designing the Nation State of Czechoslovakia when the country gained its independence shortly after World War I, artist Alphonse Mucha was called upon to help design an important part of any country’s identity – its money. In the aftermath World War I, artist and designer Alphonse Mucha helped define the image of the newly independent country of Czechoslovakia. Mucha was a devoted Czech patriot and developed a unique artistic style that he firmly believed embodied the larger tradition of his country and he encouraged his peers to define and strengthen a true Czech style. It’s appropriate then, that he was the man who the country turned to as they constructed their national identity, on a historic time period. on october 28, 1918, the republic of czechoslovakia was born and Mucha, patriot that he was, was determined to do everything he could to help the development of his new nation. When the government asked him for help designing documents, he immediately agreed. Mucha’s first project for his country was Czechoslovakia’s first postage stamps. Mucha completed the design in 24 hours: a panorama of the eclectic Hradcany Castle (also known as the Prague Castle), surrounded by the natural lacework for which the artist had become so well known. Mucha explains why he selected Prague Castle.
Opposite: Stain glass interior decoration for Banka Slavie, 1925.
The Slav Epic
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“Every nation has a palladium of its own embodying past and future history. Ever since my boyhood I felt and saw in the architectural lines of St. Vitus Cathedral built so close to the castle, a powerful interpretation of our national symbol. I could, therefore, select no other subject for my design than Hradcany Castle and the surrounding architecture of the Middle Ages.” – Alphonse Maria Mucha with over a billion printed between 1918 and 1992, when the union dissolved into two countries (Czech Republic and Slovakia), the Mucha stamp is by far the artist’s most widely reproduced work of art, a work for which the artist made no money, asking for only enough to cover his expenses.
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 7
Above and opposite top: Bank notes designed by Mucha, 1919. Opposite bottom right: Coat of arms used by Czech Republic, 1919.
in 1919 mucha started making money for his country. Literally. He designed their money. While it may be true that money can’t buy happiness, Mucha’s son Jirí recalled the joy that his father felt at the opportunity to “talk in my own way to the spirit of the nation, to its eyes which carry thoughts most quickly to the consciousness.” All of this work was done free of charge in order to support the nascent nation. His 100 korun denomination, which entered circulation in 1919, was followed by six additional notes that would enter circulation over the next 10 years. So urgently did the country needs its banknotes, that Mucha did not have the luxury of fretting over the design and reused a portrait of Josephine Crane Bradley for the image of Slavia, the symbolic representation of a unified Slavic state.
The Slav Epic
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mucha’s work for czechoslovakia wasn’t limited to the country’s stamps and banknotes. He also designed a new coat-of-arms, in use until 1961, as well as the various governmental documents and forms needed by any good bureaucracy. His work wasn’t limited to paper goods though: Alphonse Mucha also designed new police uniforms for the newly independent state.
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 7
even before world war i, mucha had contributed to the image of the Czech people when he was commissioned in 1910 to design the ornament for Lord Mayor’s Hall in the Obecní Dum (Municipal House), a newly created public building for civic events designed by esteemed architects Antonín Balšánek and Osvald Polívka. Mucha’s murals were created to celebrate the heroic history of the Czech people while expressing a strong belief in the nation’s unified future.
The Slav Epic
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Lord Mayor’s Hall in the Municipal House, 1913. Illustrating the glorious history of the Czechs and the unity of the Slav nations. On the ceiling fresco he even portrayed Czech historical personalities.
when mucha was asked by the government to help create their identity, which would be distributed across Europe on envelopes and in currency, he was perhaps the most famous artist in the country. He was celebrated for his distinctive style of flowing natural forms, and his depictions of serene women in diaphanous robes surrounded by abstracted halo of flowers giving them an almost mythical quality. Mucha enshrines these women in a delicate, oraganic framework that sometimes made from the spiraling forms of their own hair, which curls and spirals into abstractions inspired by natural forms.
The Slavs in their Original Homeland 1912.
The Abolition of Serfdom in Russia – Work in Freedom is the Foundation of a State, 1926.
Chapter 8 Legacy of a Modern Legend
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 8
Legacy of a Modern Legend by the time of his death, mucha’s style was considered outdated. However, his son, author Jiri Mucha, devoted much of his life to writing about him and bringing attention to his art. Interest in Mucha’s distinctive style experienced a strong revival in the 1960s (with a general interest in Art Nouveau) and is particularly evident in the psychedelic posters of Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, the collective name for two British artists, Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, who designed posters for groups such as Pink Floyd and The Incredible String Band. in his own country, the new authorities were not interested in Mucha. His Slav Epic was rolled and stored for twenty-five years before being shown in Moravsky Krumlov and only recently has a Mucha museum appeared in Prague, run by his grandson, John Mucha.
Legacy of a Modern Legend
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Opposite, Alphonse Mucha overlooking works 1925. Above, The Apotheosis of the Slavs, 1926.
it continues to experience periodic revivals of interest for illustrators and artists. It is a strong acknowledged influence for Stuckist painter Paul Harvey whose subjects have included Madonna and whose work was used to promote The Stuckists Punk Victorian show at the Walker Art Gallery during the 2004 Liverpool Biennial. The Japanese manga artist Naoko Takeuchi released a series of official posters depicting five of the main characters from her manga series Sailor Moon mimicking Mucha’s style. Another manga artist, the 1962 born Masakazu Katsura had also found inspiration and mimicked Mucha’s style several times. Comic book artist and current Marvel Comics Editor in Chief Joe Quesada also borrowed heavily from Mucha’s techniques for a series of covers, posters, and prints. Grindcore and sludge metal band Soilent Green used a picture by Mucha for the cover of their album Sewn Mouth Secrets.
The Meeting at Krížky – Sub Utraque 1926.
Jan Milíc of Kromeríž – A Brothel Converted to a Convent 1926.
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Alphonse Maria Mucha: Chapter 8
one of mucha’s paintings, quo vadis or alternately petronius and Eunice, was the subject of a legal dispute in 1986. The judgment handed down by Richard Posner describes parts of Mucha’s life and work biographically. Among his many other accomplishments, Mucha was also the founder of Czech Freemasonry, located in Prague.
Legacy of a Modern Legend
The Oath of Omladina under the Slavic Linden Tree 1926 (unfinished).
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References Credits & Index
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References & Credits
References alphonse mucha: czech painter by The Art Story: Modern Art Insight http://theartstory.org/artist-mucha-alphonse.htm svetozor Praha: Primus Sobotka then František Šimácek http://richet.christian.free.fr/svetozor/svet.html alphonse mucha czech decorative artist and king of art nouveau Tracy A. Burns http://www.private-prague-guide.com/ slav epic by The Mucha Foundation http://www.muchafoundation.org/gallery/themes/theme/slav-epic how alfonse mucha designed the nation of czechoslovakia Strap, Jimmy – Smithsonian.com http://www.muchafoundation.org/gallery/themes/theme/slav-epic resilience: my husband, a museum & alphonse mucha, part 3 Novacek, Charles http://www.charlesnovacekbooks.com/tag/slav-epic/
Credits layout and illustration by Eduardo Horta academy of art university 2017 Spring Semester, GR330 Typography 3, William Culpepper
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Index
Index Abolition of Serfdom in Russia, 1926. 57, 58
‘Le Gaulois’ magazine, Christmas ed., 1896. 16
Alphonse Mucha overlooking works, 1925. 61
Le Pater, 1899. 8
Apotheosis of the Slavs, 1926. 62
Lord Mayor’s Hall in the Municipal House,
Bank notes designed by Mucha, 1919. 51, 52 Biscuits Champagne Lefevre Utile 1896. 29, 30 Boutique Fouquet, 1899. 45, 46 Celebration of Svantovit, 1912. 17, 18 Chocolat Masson and Chocolat Mexicain Annual Calendar, 1897. 23, 24 Chocolat Masson and Chocolat Mexicain Seasons, 1897. 25, 26 Coat of arms used by Czech Republic, 1919. 52 Dance, 1898. 9, 10, 33, 34 "Dessin de Montre" Jewelry Design Illustration for Georges Fouquet, 1900. 40 Jan Milíc of Kromeríž – A Brothel Converted to a Convent 1926. 65, 66 Job 1896. 32 Lance Parfum “Rodo” 1896. 14
1913. 53, 54 Meeting at Krížky – Sub Utraque 1926 63, 64 Nestlé’s Food for Infants, 1897. 31 Oath of Omladina under the Slavic Linden Tree 1926 (unfinished). 67, 68 Prophetess 1896. 41, 42 Stain glass interior decoration for Banka Slavie, 1925. 50 Slavs in their Original Homeland 1912. 55, 56 Self Portrait, 1899. vi, vii Sarah Bernhardt Litho Poster 1894. 22 Theatre de la Renaissance featuring Sarah Bernhardt, 1895. 35, 56 Victorein Sardou’s Gismonda starring Sarach Bernhardt at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris, 1894. 15