Alfons Maria Mucha (1860-1939)

Alfons Mucha was a very influential but seldom mentioned figure in the history of art. He is more than anyone else responsible for the "art nouveau" style that developed around the turn of the century and applied his considerable talents to a wide variety of pursuits ranging from painting and sculpture to poster, magazine, and calendar illustration, and product and architectural design. It is probably as much because he did things other than paintings to be hung in museums that many of the leading artistic institutions have ignored his work for most of this century, but the fact that he opposed the cubist revolution and made recognizable and beautiful images meant that the critics of the 20th century would ignore his work. Those are the very things of course that make him worthy to appear here.

Alphonse Maria Mucha (1860-1939)

Gismonda (77K)

Portrait of Josephine Crane Bradley (1908) (42K)

Muse (1920) (40K)

Flower (1894) (69K)
Four Seasons (23K each)
Jaroslava (A portrait of Mucha's daughter) (1920) (146K)

Lefevre-Utile (1903) (154K)

Fruit (1897) (143K)

Morning Star (1902) (125K)

North Star (1902) (170K)

The Judgement of Paris (1895) (170K)

The Twelve Months: November (for the magazine Cocorico) (1899) (150K)

The Slav Epic (Poster) (1928) (97K)

Dawn (1899) (87K)
Dusk (1899) (77K)

Dance (1898) (147K)

Untitled (97K)

Bust of Nature (Silver, gilt bronze, and marble) (1899-1900) (67K)

The Slav Epic

The Slav Epic was Mucha's magnum opus. It was composed of 20 large paintings (measuring 18 by 24 feet) depicting the history of the Slavs. He managed this feat in part due to the generosity of Count Jerome Colloredo-Mansfeld who offered the use of a wing of Castle Zbirov where Mucha could have the space and light necessary to carry out his vision. The work on this project took place between 1912 and 1928. Unfortunately, color images of the paintings from The Slav Epic are very hard to find. Below is a black and white shot of an exhibition of them, I hope to add more and better images as time goes on. I have posted a collection of black and white prints of some of the paintings from this project in the "art wanted page" and would very much like to get more and better prints of them in here.

Mucha and The Slav Epic (Photograph in Clemtium, Prague) (1919) (85K)

The Apotheosis of the Slavs (1926) (67K)

In addition to being a brilliant painter and illustrator, Mucha was also a master of design. The following sketches contain a sampling of the designs he created for tableware, jewelry, furniture, and other things.

Collection #1 (Tableware) (149K)

Collection #2 (Tableware) (193K)

Collection #3 (Tableware) (125K)

Collection #4 (Tableware) (112K)

Collection #5 (Miscellaneous) (153K)

Collection #6 (Furniture) (180K)

Collection #7 (Furniture) (170K)

Collection #8 (Lamps) (167K)

Collection #9 (Lamps) (137K)

Collection #10 (Tableware) (196K)

Collection #11 (Tableware) (131K)

Collection #12 (Tableware) (168K)

Fuchsia Necklace designed by Alphonse Mucha and made by jeweler Gorges Fouquet in opal, cabochon sapphire, pearl, and gold (1905) (59K)

Sycamore brooch, designed by Alphonse Mucha and made by jeweler Gorges Fouquet in Cloisonne enamel, gold, diamonds, and teardrop pearl (1905) (59K)

Mucha was a careful planner and made extensive studies of his subjects before producing the final result, sometimes using photographs as models (in much the same way was Maxfield Parrish did). Here are some examples of his sketches and designs.

Plate #1 (131K)

Plate #2 (112K)

Plate #3 (129K)

Plate #4 (123K)

Hearst's Magazine photographic study (33K)

Hearst's Magazine cover, February 1922 (35K)

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