Alphonse Mucha was a Czech artist who lived from 1860 until his death in 1939. He was known predominantly for his painting, but had many other talents including lithography, jewellery design, sculpting and teaching. He was also a gifted broadsheet artist of popular prints. He had a lifelong interest with religion and mysticism and a fervent patriotic interest in his own country.
In 1871 Alphonse Mucha actually attempted to pursue a career as a singer when he joined the choir at St Peter’s Cathedral in Brno, the Czech Republic, where he attended grammar school. His singing aspirations however were unfortunately cut short in 1875 when his voice started to break in the midst of his teenage years. At this point Mucha took up drawing lessons as he could not pursue his singing any longer.
Around two years later, Alphonse Mucha applied for admission to the Academy of Visual Arts in Prague but was unsuccessful in his attempt to be accepted. He was not deterred by this and he continued his drawing lessons. He had his first break in 1879 when he secured a job in Vienna as an assistant in a firm that constructed stage sets. It was an education for him especially in the art of interior decoration and design.
Mucha’s drawing and painting skills were developing and improving so much so, that a local nobleman, Count Karl Khuen-Belassi, was so impressed by Mucha, that he commissioned him to decorate the Emmahof Castle in Moravia. The Count also agreed to sponsor his formal art education around the time of 1884.
His style of painting grew into having a major influence on many of his compatriots at the time, including other painters, graphic artists and designers. He did not welcome the fame which came to him during his working life and believed that the real and the true form of art should ascend the material trappings of life.
The main style of painting which Alphonse Mucha pioneered and became associated with was Art Nouveau, the French term for ‘new art’ which was an artistic style and form of depicting art from around the 1880’s up to 1910. The characteristic style of Art Noveau placed emphasis on natural curved and linear designs and floral emblems and was used mainly in other art design and forms such as architecture, sculpture and jewellery design.
Of all his varied work, Alphonse Mucha was best known for his flowing and luxurious poster designs in the form of broadsheets. These are ranked among some of the best work of the Art Noveau period. Many of the depictions featured beautiful women but these were in no way graphic or sexual which typified the other painting art forms of the period.
Some of his best work was made for the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt around the 1890’s. Mucha was involved in doing quite a varied amount of work for Bernhardt which involved set design, costume design and jewellery. Mucha became successful in the USA as well as Europe and often traveled to the States.
Alphonse Mucha died in 1939, the year of the outbreak of the Second World War. After the war, his style of art and his paintings and broadsheet depictions were unfavorably out of fashion. Around the 1960’s however, there was a revival and renewed interest in his work and the Art Noveau style.
Ever since then, many books and exhibitions have been written and dedicated to the work of Alphonse Mucha and there was a major showing of his paintings, broadsheet posters, drawings, jewellery and even furniture design at the Grand Palais in Paris in 1980. He has lived on in popular culture and become one of the most influential figures especially in the Art Noveau genre.