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Walking through Prague I couldn’t but not notice on every corner and souvenir shop beautiful illustrations and postcards, including lots of handwork, tributes to Czech artist Alphonse Mucha. It’s of course of no surprise, give the fact that he is one of the most influential people in art’s history, many would say the most responsible person for Art Nouveau movement that started around the beginning of the 20th century.
Alphonse (Alfons) Maria Mucha was born in 24th of July 1860 in small town Ivančice, Moravia (SUNY Oswego,2010). Although he has spent his childhood as an amateur musician, that helped him get through high school in Brno, painting had always been his first love. He started working on decorative painting jobs in Moravia, mostly of historical subjects. Doing an impressive work for wealthy Czech count- Karl Khuen of Mikulov, he gained a sponsor for further education at Munich Academy of Fine Arts.
Unfortunately, leaving for Paris in 1887 left him without that financial assistance so he lived practically starving for several years. It was a chance of luck that he stopped by one print shop and saw an advertisement of an urgent need of a poster for Sarah Bernhard’s new play Gismonda, at Theatre de la Renaissance. He produced a lithographed poster within two weeks, so innovative in design, that it immediately became the main attraction in Paris. From than on the style was referred to as Mucha Style, later known as Art Nouveau.
Fig. 1
Mucha, A. (1895) Gismonda [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online]. Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4431&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
“Now, when Art Nouveau posters are a staple of fashionable interior decoration, it is difficult to appreciate the impact of Mucha’s Gismonda, in many ways the most impressive poster he ever produced. In 1895 its distinctive shape, muted colouring and exquisitely simplified draughtsmanship, allied to a Byzantine richness of decoration, were completely novel. The poster’s obvious merit, together with the publicity value of anything or anybody connected with Bernhardt, ensured that within a week, Mucha was the most talked about artist in Paris” (Henderson, 1980, p 10)
“. . . he succeeded in creating a poster so different from others on the billboards, both in design and colouring, that from the beginning he was considered not a follower but equal to the best artists of the period.” (Dvorak, A. 1980, p 134)
Sarah Bernard was so impressed with his work that she offered him a 6 year contract. It was the beginning of his lucrative career. He was designing jewelry, carpets, advertisements… but what was most popular with admirers of his “Mucha Style” was a set of panels he published in 1902 called panneaux décoratifs, usually printed on silk and which could’ve been used to decorate houses.
Fig. 2
Mucha, A. (1896) Autumn [Panel] Art Renewal Center [Online].
Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/artwork/598/598/4426/autumn-large.jpg (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
“This was Mucha’s first set of decorative panels and remains one of his most popular. In fact it was so popular that Mucha was asked by Champenois to produce at least two more sets based on the same theme in 1897 and 1900. Designs for further two sets also exist. The theme lends itself well to personification and Mucha captures the moods of the seasons: innocent Spring, sultry Summer, fruitful Autumn to perfection.” (Mucha Foundation, 2010)
Fig. 3
http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4425&size=large (Accessed:8 May 2010).
Fig. 4
Mucha, A. (1896) Winter [Panel] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at:
http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4423&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Mucha, A. (1896) Spring [Panel] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at:
http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4424&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Certainly a highlight of his career was the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he designed the Bosnia and Herzegovina Pavilion. With help of a goldsmith partner he created jewelry for his designs, amongst which probably the most famous piece is the one he did for Sarah Bernard. He gained many followers as the Art Nouveau started to spread, but he was never too much fond of being labeled as an artist of a certain type and movement. He merely created art, which was unaware of the time and commerciality.
“His way was based on strong composition, serious curves, derived from nature, refined decorative elements and natural colors, The Art Nouveau precepts were used, too, but never on the expense of his vision.” (Vadeboncoeur, J.,1999)
It was about time when he considered changing direction in his art. In fact, he always felt a strong pull to his origins and great patriotism for Czech (Vadeboncoeur, J.,1999). But unfortunately during his visit to Prague in 1902 he was all but welcomed, not to mention revolt and criticism when he was commissioned to do the decorations for the New Municipal Building. Apparently Czech had a certain feeling that he was betraying his own nation, considered him more of French, which in many ways, hurt him deeply. Jiri Mucha, definitely his greatest admirer and “defender”, greatly responsible for revival of his father’s work and legacy through last century, simply commented on this:
“This was the great paradox of Czech nationalism. In its blindness and thinly-veiled chauvinism it branded every demonstration of personality as non-Czech, since from the frog’s-eye view of its own puddle such manifestations had certainly very little to do with Czech reality.” (Mucha, J. 1966, p. 198)
Mucha moved to America in 1906, where he was fortunate enough get a support from a millionaire Charles R. Crane to finance his biggest and ambitious project: The Slav Epic, which is a series of paintings about Czech history and Slavic people. To say that he worked on it for nearly 20 years shouldn’t come as a surprise as it contains 20 pictures, amongst which the biggest one is 8 meters by 6 meters. Some of the painting were first displayed in America, but were given to Czechoslovakian people in 1928.
Fig. 6
Mucha, A. (1912) The Celebration of Svantovit: When Gods are at War, Salvation is in the Arts [Oil] The Slav Epic: The Magnum Opus of Alphonse Mucha [Online]. Available at:http://www.pricejb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/slav-epic/02.htm (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
The reactions to the paintings were quite negative, but that was largely due to the political scene in Czechoslovakia at the time. It was a mix of communist, fascist, social- democrats… Jiri Mucha quoted Brabcova:
“The public of Mucha’s homeland received the Epic with mixed emotions, one can even say with disfavor for the most part. They looked at it as a work whose ideas and intentions were out of tune with the time of its origin. But they were aware of the sincerity and the honest effort that went into the creation of the whole series. It came to be viewed as one of those controversial artistic errors which make us feel both respect and pity for the amount of work expended on it... “ (Mucha, J. 1966, p 277)
Even he himself didn’t especially approve his father’s work:
"A certain negative reaction which I share to some of father’s later work cannot be ascribed to the message which he put in it but to its insufficient artistic execution. Like Tolstoy, he sacrificed form to didactic content. His professional skill was such that he no longer needed to solve any problem of color or line but just keep pushing his fixed idea on the people: solidarity between nations whose historic misfortunes had been the result of permanent discord. He believed that the time had come for the Slavonic element to steer the course of history. . . He was, to me, a sinister warning against the mistake an artist should never commit. But I must stress that I am speaking here only of one aspect—of a few of his pictures from his later period. "( Mucha, J. 1966 ,p 286)
To all that, I have but only one conclusion: the only important thing in art is to create. And whatever you create, you will always be judged and receive criticism, positive or negative. It is a risk of bringing new ideas to life, especially when trying to waken the public senses to some more sensible issues. As for my opinion on The Slavic Epic I’ll be free to quote Mucha himself:
“I am convinced that the development of every nation may proceed with success only if it grows organically and continuously form the nation’s own roots and that for the preservation of this continuity, knowledge of its historical past is indispensible.” (Mucha, S. 2008).Mucha’s art inspires me a great deal. There is something about his art I found profoundly beautiful, perhaps it’s the use of light pastel colors, beautiful women in almost some dreamy like scenery, flowers in the background, often creating some new shapes and effects, like aureoles behind their heads. His illustrations, posters and panels that are now sold in forms of cups, diaries, postcards etc., and hundreds of tourists struggling to pick their favorite one, speaks of the power of his art, his legacy. There are many illustrators and artist today who acknowledge his work and are inspired by it. Every now and then, we can see his influence on some album cover, comic book or proud portfolio of a “newly born” artist. I was never the type who listens to critics or reads subjective art history books. I have visions of beauty and value of art of my own. And this is what I like:
Fig. 7
Muha, A. (1897) Monaco Monte Carlo [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4413&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Muha, A. (1897) Monaco Monte Carlo [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4413&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Fig. 8
Mucha, A. (1898) Medee [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artist.php?artistid=598&page=1 ( Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Fig. 9
Mucha, A. (1897) Bieres de la Meuse [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4429&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Mucha, A. (1897) Bieres de la Meuse [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4429&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Fig. 10
Mucha, A. (1898) Dance [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online]. Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4417&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Mucha, A. (1898) Dance [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online]. Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4417&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
References:
State University of New York at Oswego (2010) Alphonse Mucha. Available at: http://www.oswego.edu/graphics-projects/art317/mucha2/ (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Henderson, A. (1980) ‘Women and Flowers: The Life and Work of Alphonse Mucha’, in Bridges, A. (ed.) Alphonse Mucha: The Complete Graphic Works. New York: Harmony.
Dvorak, A. (1980) ‘Illustrations for Books and Periodicals’ in Bridges, A. (ed.) Alphonse Mucha: The Complete Graphic Works. New York: Harmony.
Mucha Foundation (2010) Autumn 1896. Available at: http://www.muchafoundation.org/MIMGDetail.aspx (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Vadeboncoeur, J. Jr. (1999) Mucha. Available at: http://bpib.com/illustrat/mucha.htm (Accessed: 8 May 2010).
Mucha, J. (1966) Alphonse Mucha: His Life and Art. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Mucha, S. (2008) Alphonse Mucha. London: Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd.
Image list:
Mucha, A. (1895) Gismonda [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online]. Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4431&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010). Fig. 1
Mucha, A. (1896) Autumn [Panel] Art Renewal Center [Online]. Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/artwork/598/598/4426/autumn-large.jpg (Accessed: 8 May 2010). Fig. 2
Mucha, A. (1896) Summer [Panel] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at:
http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4425&size=large (Accessed:8 May 2010). Fig. 3
Mucha, A. (1896) Winter [Panel] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at:
http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4423&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010). Fig. 4
Mucha, A. (1896) Spring [Panel] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at:
http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4424&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010). Fig. 5
Mucha, A. (1912) The Celebration of Svantovit: When Gods are at War, Salvation is in the Arts [Oil] The Slav Epic: The Magnum Opus of Alphonse Mucha [Online]. Available at:
http://www.pricejb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/slav-epic/02.htm (Accessed: 8 May 2010).Fig. 6
Muha, A. (1897) Monaco Monte Carlo [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4413&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010). Fig. 7
Mucha, A. (1898) Medee [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artist.php?artistid=598&page=1 ( Accessed: 8 May 2010). Fig .8
Mucha, A. (1897) Bieres de la Meuse [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online] Available at: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4429&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010). Fig. 9
Mucha, A. (1898) Dance [Lithograph] Art Renewal Center [Online]. Available at:
http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=4417&size=large (Accessed: 8 May 2010). Fig .10