Alphons Mucha Essay, Research Paper

Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha was born in 1860 at Ivancice in Southern Moravia, Czechoslovakia. He lived in Paris from 1887 on, that is where most of his work was recognized as an illustrator. Mucha s major breakthrough in the world of art and international fame was in 1984 with his poster of the actress, Sarah Bernhardt. Mucha used her on numerous posters. Alphonse Mucha was known for his posters and art work of women, and commercial posters (with women). His work was always precise and always had a frame along with a touch of delicacy as well as soft colors. Before Mucha s fame he had tried unsuccessfully to apply for the Prague academy of Fine Arts, he then moved on to taking drawing classes in the evening while working with a theater props firm in Vienna. Mucha later on meets Count Khuen-Belassi who became his patron. Mucha was commissioned to do restoration work on murals at the Emmahof palace. Alphonse Mucha eventually gets accepted to art school in Munich then Paris, where he stays. It was in Paris that Mucha was assigned to do a poster of Berndhardt were he was so successful he was assigned a six year contract with the actress. He designed her costumes, jewelry, stage decorations and printed posters. Mucha is given his first exhibition at the Paris Gallery La Bodiniere by the Journal des Artistes , his second exhibition displayed over 400 works of his famous works. Mucha specializes in decorative prints, poster art, calendars and more, he is in the Art Nouveau branch. Mucha was once friends with Auguste Rodin where he travels with him throughout Czechoslovakia. As Mucha became more popular he was invited to the USA where he later taught. Alphonse Mucha did eventually get married in 1906 to Marie Chtilova whom he had met in Paris. They then move back to Prague where they settle down and Mucha dedicates his art at the service of Slavic history and culture, which form that evolves the Slav epic. On July 14, 1939 Alphonse Mucha dies of pneumonia in Prague.

Alphonse Mucha was a very influential but seldom a mentioned figure in the art history. He is more that anyone known and responsible for the Art Nouveau style that developed around the turn of the century. It applied his considerable talents to a wide variety of pursuits ranging from painting and sculpture to poster, magazine, and calendar illustration, and the product and architectural design. It is probably as much because he did things other than paintings hung on museum walls that many of the leading artistic institutions have ignored his work for most of the century. The mere fact that he opposed the cubist revolution and created recognizable and beautiful images was most likely the reason why the art critics ignored his art. Mucha also painted historical paintings such as the history of the Slavs, this work took from 1912-1928. In addition to being a brilliant painter and illustrator, Mucha was also a master at design, he created designs for tableware, jewelry, furniture and more. Many of his works were such as the decorative panels were printed on strong paper or silk and framed like paintings or decorative screens. Mucha s art was always female with concepts and themes, they usually symbolized Mucha had the skill of knowing how to adapt his designs to various forms and media. Art Nouveau can be defined as a reaction to the mechanicanization and mass production of the idustrial revolution. Artists such as Mucha were longing for the beauty of the pre-industrial age, so they rebelled against massive produced goods. This Art Nouveau gave the artist a chance to emphasize their personal touch such as delicate flowing lines and curves. Art Nouveau influenced architesture, painting design, ironwork furinture and even women s fashions. Mucha lead a leading role in this section of art and is recognized for it.