Alphonse Mucha and his women. Luxurious “women of Alphonse Mucha”: masterpieces of the Czech modernist artist, creator of “art for everyone” Alphonse Mucha Czech artist the girl who

Alphonse Mucha, a Czech artist whose name has become a symbol of the Golden Age of painting in the West, is practically unknown in our country. Meanwhile, the talented master left a deep mark on the history of art, introducing his own unique style, which is still called the “Mukha style.” What is the secret and tragedy of the fate of the famous artist? This is what our article is about.

Biography

Alphonse Mucha was born in 1860 in the town of Ivančice (Moravia). His father was a court official, and his mother was the daughter of a wealthy miller. Since childhood, the boy showed his creative inclinations, becoming interested in singing. Already in school age He began to draw, and after graduating from high school he decided to enter the Academy of Arts in Prague. He failed his exams, so he had to look for a job. The father gets his son a job as a clerk in court, and in his free time Alphonse Mucha works part-time in the theater. He tries himself as an actor, and then as a poster decorator. It was a time of creative wandering and self-searching. For some time he works as a scenery designer for the theater, and then he is invited to paint the walls of the castle of Count Kuen-Belassi. The Count, admiring the artist's talent, agrees to pay for his education at the Munich Academy of Arts.

Confession

After training, Alphonse Mucha moved to Paris. However, by this time his patron dies, and the artist is left without a livelihood. To do what you love, you need expensive paints, brushes and paper. To feed themselves, the future celebrity is forced to earn a living by making posters, posters, invitations and calendars. But fate is favorable to the genius. One such poster radically changes Alphonse’s life. famous actress, for whose presentation Mukha wrote an order, recommends him as the chief decorator of the Renaissance Theater. The artist instantly becomes famous. There was no end to orders for posters and advertising posters for various products. At the same time, Alphonse Mucha began to paint original paintings and organize personal exhibitions in Paris.

Love

New moments in life are associated with Paris. Here, in National Theater, Mucha meets a young Czech woman, Maria Chytilova. A girl who is 20 years younger falls in love with the artist and arranges a meeting with him. Maria becomes for Alphonse new muse, the second love in life, as he himself noted, after his homeland. In 1906, the master married Maria. Later they have two daughters and a son. At the same time, Mucha moved to the United States at the invitation of the American Society of Illustrators, where he continued to work until 1910. Here he receives several orders for portraits, and also lectures at New York University. But dreams of his homeland do not leave the artist, and soon he returns to the Czech Republic.

Last tribute to the homeland

After returning to Prague, Alphonse Mucha, whose paintings become known throughout the world, begins his most ambitious work. He plans to paint monumental canvases on which he depicts history Slavic peoples. In 1928, the author finished the “Slavic Epic” and gave it to his native Prague. Mucha’s work on the creation of official banknotes and stamps of independent Czechoslovakia dates back to the same period. Throughout his life, Alfons never stops learning and improving his artistic talent.

Forgotten genius

After the 30s, interest in the work of the fly begins to decline, and by the beginning of the 2nd World War he was even included in the list of enemies of the Third Reich. He was imprisoned on suspicion of promoting anti-fascist and nationalist sentiments. After a series of arrests and interrogations in 1939, Alphonse dies of pneumonia, having managed to publish his memoirs in 1939. Mucha was buried in the Czech Republic at the Visegrad cemetery.

Family

Mucha lived a long and fruitful life, leaving behind talented descendants. Maria, the master's student and wife, survived her husband by 20 years. Jiri, the artist’s son, became a famous journalist, and the master’s daughters and grandchildren inherited Creative skills. Thus, Mukha’s granddaughter Jarmila, who is still alive, created a project to create decorative items based on her grandfather’s sketches.

Creation

Alphonse Mucha, whose paintings became popular not only in his homeland, but also in other countries, was able to achieve stunning success during his life. Having received his education in Brno, and then in Munich and Paris, he began his creative path author of illustrations in fashion magazines. Collaborating with many famous magazines and newspapers, such as "People's Life", "Figaro" and " Parisian life", the artist developed his own, unique style. There were also serious works at this time, such as “The History of Germany”. A turn in Mucha's fate occurred in 1893, when he received a regular order from the Renaissance Theater for a poster for the play Gismonda. Sarah Bernhardt took part in the performance. The great actress was fascinated by the work. She wanted to meet the author of the poster personally. She also subsequently insisted that Alphonse become the chief decorator of the Renaissance Theater. So Mucha unexpectedly became one of the most popular artists in Paris. He began to write posters, posters, and postcards. His paintings began to decorate the most fashionable restaurants and ladies' boudoirs. During this period, the artist Mucha Alphonse painted the famous series of paintings “Seasons”, “Stars”, “Months”. Today, the master’s works are included in the collections of museums around the world, and in Prague there is a museum entirely dedicated to creativity famous fellow countryman.

The most famous series of paintings

Mucha painted several hundred paintings and posters throughout his life. Among the most famous works a significant place is occupied by the famous series “Seasons”, “Flowers”, “Months”, “ Gems", as well as the world-famous "Slavic Epic". Let's look at the history of the author's writing.

"Slavic epic"

At the end of his life, the artist Mucha Alphonse plans to create a series of works about the history of the Slavic peoples. For the sake of his dream, the master goes to work in America, where he is forced to work hard, creating advertising posters and posters. Mucha collected ideas for future paintings while traveling through Slavic countries, including Russia. Work on “Epic” lasts 20 years. As a result, Alphonse painted 20 canvases measuring 6 by 8 meters. These paintings, filled with calm, wisdom and spirituality, are considered his best works. The paintings reveal the history of several nations at once. For example, the work “The Battle of Grunwald” tells us about the liberation of Lithuania and Poland, which survived the battle with the crusaders. Let's give short Alphonse Mucha included in the plot real historical events that occurred in the 13th century in Europe. The work is filled with sorrow and worry about the fate of the Slavic peoples during difficult periods of bloody wars. In each of his paintings in the “Slavic Epic” series, the artist reflects faith in the bright future of his people. The most famous work from this series is considered to be the painting “Apotheosis Slavic history" The canvas depicts four eras of development of Slavic culture and history: ancient world, the Middle Ages, the period of oppression and a bright future. All the skill and talent of the great artist was realized in the picture. The main goal of Mukha’s work is to help people understand each other and become closer. After completing the main work of his life, Alphonse donated the entire series of paintings to his beloved city of Prague. The work was completed in 1928, but since there was no place in Prague at that time to store and display such large-scale paintings, "The Slavic Epic" was first shown in the Fair Palace, and after the war it was placed in one of the Moravian castles. After the war, the works were put on public display only in 1963. To this day, residents and guests of the city can admire this gift. famous master, whose name is Alphonse Mucha.

"Seasons"

IN late XIX century, the artist is actively working on illustrations for the fashionable Parisian magazine “Kokoriko”. On its pages for the first time appears a series of paintings made in gouache and pencil, called “12 months”. The works, distinguished by their unique style and originality, immediately appealed to readers. The drawings were images of graceful women with luxuriant hair and beautiful figures. All the ladies looked attractive and seductive. A mysterious and graceful woman, drowning in a sea of ​​flowers, has always been depicted in the very center of the work. The paintings were framed in elegant oriental style. In 1986, the author painted the decorative panel “The Seasons,” preserving the images of divine beauties. Now the work is done using gouache and ink, but the style remains the same. The paintings were released in limited editions, but sold out very quickly. The panels were printed on silk or thick paper and hung in living rooms, boudoirs and various restaurants. All the drawings differed in mood and color scheme, which was carefully selected by Alphonse Mucha. Spring, for example, was depicted in pastel light pink colors. Summer - with bright green shades, autumn - rich orange, and winter - transparent-cold. At the same time, all the paintings are filled with charm, tenderness and tranquility.

Advertising posters

The artist painted his first advertising poster in 1882. He quickly realized that this was a very profitable business. True, the then unknown artist did not receive many orders. He painted posters for various theatrical productions. After gaining popularity (thanks to Sarah Bernhardt), he became one of the leading artists in Parisian advertising. The posters reflected the original “Mukha style” (named so later). The paintings were distinguished by their richness of colors and details. His compositions, usually depicting languid, luxurious girls, began to be published in fashion newspapers and magazines. “Women of the Fly” (as they are beginning to be called in Paris) sell thousands of copies in posters, calendars, playing cards, advertising labels. The artist creates labels for matches, bicycles and champagne. There was simply no end to good orders, and now all of Paris would know who Alphonse Mucha was. The poster (the description of the painting “The Seasons” has already been presented above) is to the taste of the director of one of the famous publishing houses “Champenois”, and the artist enters into a lucrative contract with him. Later, working in America, the master continues to work on a series of advertising posters, earning money for his dream “Slavic Epic”. Until now, these works of the master are replicated all over the world in the form of fashionable art posters.

Alphonse Mucha Museum in Prague

It is the only official museum of the artist. It was opened in 1998 by the descendants of the famous master. The exhibitions presented in the halls tell about the life and work of the skilled painter. Visitors to the Alphonse Mucha Museum are introduced to a series of art posters created by the author at the end of the 19th century. The works reflect the elegance and beauty of female images, so beloved by the artist. Here you can also see the famous poster for the theatrical production of Gismond, which changed the life of the genius. It is from this painting that Mucha’s exclusive “style” begins, distinguishing his work from all his predecessors. Next, guests can enjoy the spirit of the “rebirth” of the Czech state in the form of stamps and banknotes, the designer of which was Alfons himself. A significant place in the museum is dedicated to the famous paintings of the “Slavic Epic”. Visitors will also find out the details personal life author. The museum displays photographs of models and friends of the great artist, as well as sketches for his future works.

Conclusion

Alphonse Mucha gave birth to something new and became a role model for many. famous artists turn of the XIX-XX centuries. “Mukha Style”, expressive, spiritual and understandable to the inexperienced viewer, still remains popular among modern masters and designers. You can feel the soul of the author in it, his piercing love for his homeland and an amazing sense of beauty. The bold sensuality of the author’s paintings delights, fascinates and surprises anyone who discovers this unique and mysterious “Mukha style”. All this makes the works of Alphonse Mucha a significant milestone in the history of world art.

July 24 marks the 156th anniversary of the birth of the world famous Czech artist, illustrator, jewelry designer, poster artist Alphonse Mucha. He is called one of the most famous representatives of the Art Nouveau style and the creator of his own unique style. “Women of the Fly” (images of seasons, time of day, flowers, etc. in female images) are known throughout the world for their open sensuality and captivating grace.

Alfons Mucha - Czech-Moravian painter, theater artist, illustrator, jewelry designer and poster artist, one of the most famous representatives of the Art Nouveau style.

Biography of Alphonse Mucha

Early period

Alphonse Mucha was born in the town of Ivančice (Eibenschütz) (Czech. Ivančice, German Eibenschütz) in South Moravia, near Brno, in the family of a poor court official, Ondrej Mucha, the father of six children from two marriages. The artist's mother was Amalia Mukha, the daughter of a wealthy miller. As a child, Alfons was interested in singing and was accepted as a singer in the boys' choir of the chapel of the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Brno, which allowed him to study at the gymnasium. His first painting experiments (watercolor “Joan of Arc”) also date back to this time. After graduating from high school, he tried to enter the Prague Academy of Arts, but failed the exams and for some time, under the patronage of his father, he worked as a clerk in the court of his hometown. He devoted all his free time to classes in the local amateur theater - first as an actor, then as a decorator and artist of posters and invitation cards.

In 1879, Mucha was noticed and invited to Vienna to the art workshops of Kautsky-Briosci-Burghardt as an artist theatrical scenery. But after the fire at the Ringtheater in 1881, which led to the death of about 500 people and destroyed his workshop, the decorating company failed, and he was so shocked that he left Vienna and moved to the small Moravian town of Mikulov (Nikolsburg), where worked on decorating the ancestral castle of Count Karl Kuen-Belassi, and then his ceremonial palace Emmahof (named in honor of Emma, ​​the count’s wife) in the Moravian city of Grushovani. Soon the artist, together with the Kuen-Belassi spouses, traveled to Northern Italy and the Austrian Tyrol. There Alphonse Mucha spent some time painting the walls of the castle that belonged to Kuen-Belassi's brother. Admired by the talent of the young Moravian, the count agreed to pay the costs of his studies at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Here Mucha soon headed the Association of Slavic Artists.

Life in Paris

After two years of study in Munich, Mucha moved to Paris in 1887 and entered the Académie Julian and then the Académie Colarossi, the most famous art schools of his time. However, in the same 1887, Count Couen-Belassi committed suicide. Mukha was left without a livelihood. He had to interrupt his systematic painting and make a living by making advertising posters, posters, calendars, restaurant menus, invitations, and business cards. His workshop is located above Madame Charlotte's pastry shop (for some time he shared it with Van Gogh). However, sometimes there were serious orders. Thus, in 1892, Mucha illustrated the multi-volume work “Scenes and Episodes from the History of Germany” by the French historian Charles Seignobos. Appeal to great people and great events of not only the German but also the pan-European past enriched the artist with valuable experience, which later came in handy when working on his most famous creation, “The Slavic Epic.”

A turning point in the fate of the Moravian genius came in 1894, when on the eve of Christmas he received from the Renaissance Theater a seemingly unremarkable order for a poster for the premiere of the performance of “Gismonde” with the participation of the great actress Sarah Bernhardt.

This work instantly made him perhaps the most popular artist in Paris. The delighted Sarah Bernhardt wanted to meet the unknown artist, and at her insistence he received the position of chief decorator of the theater. Over the next six years, many posters for performances came out from under his brush, the most famous of which include “The Lady of the Camellias”, “Medea”, “The Samaritan Woman”, “Tosca” and “Hamlet”, as well as the scenery of her productions, costumes and decorations. For some time, Mucha was also the lover of the famous actress.

During these years, he became widely known as the author of labels and vignettes for various products - from champagne and biscuits to bicycles and matches, as well as as a designer of jewelry, interiors, and applied art (carpets, drapes, etc.).

There was no end to orders. Newspapers wrote about the Mucha phenomenon, and a new concept even appeared in Paris - “La Femme Muchas”. Luxurious, sensual and languid “women of Mucha” were instantly replicated and sold in thousands of copies in posters, postcards, playing cards... The offices of secular aesthetes, the halls of the best restaurants, ladies' boudoirs were decorated with silk panels, calendars and prints by the master. In the same style, colorful graphic series “Seasons”, “Flowers”, “Trees”, “Months”, “Stars”, “Arts”, “Precious Stones” were created, which are still reproduced in the form of art posters ( and are subject to shameless plagiarism at all levels). One of the most famous Parisian graphic publishing houses, Champenois ( Le Champenois), enters into an exclusive contract with him for his applied creativity.

All of Mucha’s works are distinguished by their own unique style.

The center of the composition, as a rule, is a young healthy woman Slavic appearance in loose clothes, with a luxurious crown of hair, drowning in a sea of ​​flowers - sometimes languidly captivating, sometimes mysterious, sometimes graceful, sometimes unapproachably fatal, but always charming and pretty. The paintings are framed by intricate floral patterns that do not hide their Byzantine or eastern origin. The lithographs of Mucha, illustrating “Ilse, Princess of Tripoli” by Robert de Fleur, were also executed in the same style... In contrast to the disturbing paintings of his contemporary masters - Klimt, Vrubel, Bakst - the works of Alphonse Mucha breathe calm and bliss.

In 1895, Mucha became a member of the Symbolist circle “Salon of a Hundred” ( Salon des Cent), grouped around a small one of the same name art gallery, to which such personalities as artists Bonnard, Toulouse-Lautrec, Grasse, poets Verlaine, Mallarmé and others belonged. His acquaintances include the Lumiere brothers, with whom he participates in cinematography experiments, and Strindberg. Since 1897, he has organized solo exhibitions in Paris and other European cities, including Prague, which have enjoyed enormous success, magazine La Plume dedicates a special issue to him. In 1900, Mucha took part in the decoration of the pavilion of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Exhibition in Paris. This event prompted him to become interested in the history of the Slavs, which later led to the creation of the “Slavic Epic” cycle.

Home again

Immediately after returning to the Czech Republic, in the huge Crystal Hall of Zbiroh Castle near Prague, he set to work. Over the next eighteen years, twenty monumental canvases came out of his brush, depicting turning points in the history of the Slavic peoples, in particular, “Slavs in the Historical Homeland” (“Slavs in the Ancestral Homeland”), “Simeon, King of Bulgaria”, “Sermon of the Master John Hus”, “After the Battle of Grunwald”, “Jan Komensky leaves his homeland” and “Abolition of serfdom in Rus'”. During these same years, he worked on the interiors of the most famous buildings in Prague in the Art Nouveau style - the Municipal House, the Europe and Imperial hotels, and created a sketch of the main stained glass window of the completed St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle.

After the formation of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, Mucha was absorbed in creating the “official” graphic style of the new state: his talent includes samples of the first banknotes and postage stamps countries, one of the variants of the state emblem and even government forms and envelopes.

In 1928, Mucha finished his “Slavic Epic” and donated it to the city of Prague. Due to the fact that in the then Prague there was no gallery that could house it in its entirety, it was temporarily exhibited at the Fair Palace, and after the war it was placed in a castle in the town of Moravsky Krumlov (available for inspection since 1963).

By the end of his life, interest in him was lost: in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s (the heyday of functionalism), as well as in the socialist period, his work was considered outdated and overly nationalistic.

The artist’s patriotism (not so much Moravian or Czech as pan-Slavic) was so famous that the authorities of Hitler’s Germany included him in the list of enemies of the Third Reich - despite Alfons Mucha’s very significant contribution to German culture. After the capture of Prague in March 1939, the elderly artist was arrested and interrogated several times by the Gestapo, as a result of which he contracted pneumonia and died on July 14, 1939. Alphonse Mucha was buried in the Visegrad Cemetery.

Artist's creativity

In the center of his posters, Mucha placed an idealized image of a woman: smooth lines, closeness to natural forms, rejection of pointed corners - these characteristic signs of Art Nouveau left an indelible impression in the minds of recipients.

The female image itself was then used for advertising purposes for the first time, but history has shown how successful this experience has become, and is still used to this day by specialists from leading countries in the advertising industry such as the United States. However, we must pay tribute to Mucha: it is difficult to find the slightest hint of sweetness in his works, which cannot be said about modern analogues. Perhaps the fact that the aesthetics of the Czech artist was formed under the influence of medieval subjects and Celtic mythology played a role here. This, on the one hand, introduced a variety of symbolism into his creations, and, on the other hand, contributed to the ornamental complexity of many posters. To organize the consideration of the background of Mucha’s works, it is necessary to introduce a conditional classification:

Floral motifs, borrowed from Eastern culture, became an integral attribute of the paintings of the Art Nouveau era for many artists: floating stems and pale petals fully corresponded to the Art Nouveau concept, not only with their forms, but also with a combination of colors that had not previously been combined. In Mukha’s works one can find clear confirmation of this: pastel colors, exotic outlines, as if repeating the image of a beautiful lady located in the foreground with her unrealistic flying long hair, dressed in light clothing, akin to Greek tunics - all this created a unique harmony and unity due to the interpenetration of elements of the female figure and background.

Moving on to the consideration of ornament, it should be noted that the most commonly used geometric figure in Mucha's works the circle appears as a symbol of endless repetition, circulation, and also as a symbol feminine. Even the advertising inscriptions behind the image of the beautiful lady were located in a semicircle with smoothly outlined letters.

Another motif is a symbolic image of a horseshoe in an enlarged form, with a painted ornament inside.

Here again lies a reference to the pagan worldview, not to mention the background images using mythical creatures. Mucha’s creative concept was reflected in every detail of the paintings and posters he created: an emotionally executed, powerful figure, occupying most of the space, would be unfinished without an appropriate background, combining features of fine and applied art. Mucha consciously sought a compromise between the Byzantine and Eastern principles, between modernity and rich mythological subjects; he turned exquisite portraits of women into works of mass art and succeeded in this: everyday life was already absorbing new forms.

Thus, to summarize the above, it should be noted that poster advertising of the late 19th century consists of genuine masterpieces visual arts: street posters were not created solely for marketing purposes, they expressed the mood of an entire era, which means they sought to conquer minds not for the sake of commercial gain, but for a complete transition to a new vision of reality, freed from the conservatism of past years.

Bibliography

• Official website of the A. Mucha Foundation (English)
• Works by Alphonse Mucha
• Alphonse Mucha. Transforming the mundane into art
• Alphonse Mucha and his Art Nouveau masterpieces
• About 300 works by Alphonse Mucha
• Alphonse Mucha (Slavic epic)
• Alphonse Mucha: Flowers and Dreams Art Nouveau
• "Slavic Epic" Alphonse Mucha
• Veletržní palác (Kontakty)

When writing this article, materials from the following sites were used:en.wikipedia.org ,

If you find any inaccuracies or want to add to this article, send us information to the email address admin@site, we, and our readers, will be very grateful to you.

Alphonse Maria Mucha(1860-1939) - Czech graphic artist, painter, virtuoso of decorative and applied arts. His name is associated with the emergence of a new style in art, which originated at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. IN European art This style was called Art Nouveau or Art Nouveau.

A distinctive feature of works in the Art Nouveau style was the rejection of straight lines in favor of natural curves. Alphonse Mucha was a recognized master of new, sophisticated forms. His multifaceted talent influenced many European architects, artists, and graphic artists.

Biography of Alphonse Mucha

On July 24, 1860, not far from Brno, in the old small Moravian town of Ivančice, Alfons Maria Mucha was born. The boy began to get involved in singing and painting early.

After graduating from high school, his father sent him to work in art school in Prague with a request for enrollment. But in response, the professors said that the author of the works did not have enough talent.

After such a failure, the young man had to work as a clerk in a local court. But this did not stop Alphonse from coming up with scenery, drawing posters and tickets for the local theater. In many ways, this period of his life determined the nature of his future work.

Two years later, in 1789, following an advertisement in a Viennese newspaper, Alphonse Mucha got a job in the workshop " Kautsky-Briosci-Burkhart", which was engaged in the manufacture of various theatrical accessories.

In 1881, the workshop was completely destroyed in a fire, and the artist was forced to leave for the small Czech town of Mikulov. Here he had to start decorating the ancestral castle of the local count Kuen-Belasi.

Alphonse's creativity made a great impression on the count, who proposed to a young artist help and became his patron. In 1885 Alfons entered the third year of the Academy of Arts in Munich. After studying for two years, the artist decided to complete his art education in Paris.

Alphonse Mucha was accepted into one of the most famous art schools in France - Julien Academy, and then in Academy Colarossi. However, in 1889 he was deprived of the financial assistance of Count Couen-Belassi and worked as a simple designer and newspaper illustrator.

In 1894, the artist received an order from the theater " Renaissance" A poster was required for the premiere of the play "Gismonda" with a brilliant Sarah Bernard. Choosing an elongated horizontal format for work, adding colors and small parts, the artist changed the hitherto existing principle of drawing up posters.

Work for Sarah Bernhardt unknown artist made a tremendous impression. The great actress wanted to meet him. As a result of cooperation, the following works were created: “ Lady with camellias», « Medea», « Samaritan woman», « Yearning», « Hamlet»

During this period of creativity, the artist develops his own characteristic, recognizable style.

The semantic center of the horizontally elongated panel is the image of a mysterious stranger with a captivating smile on her lips, framed by an intricate ornament composed of fragments of fantastic flowers and plants, symbolic images, and exquisite interweaving of arabesques.

On the wave of success, in 1897, in the Parisian gallery " La Bodiniere“The first exhibition of the artist’s works was successfully held. Next year in Salon des Cent(Salon Sta) a second, larger one opened. Then a number of exhibitions took place throughout Europe.

In 1898, Alphonse began his brilliant collaboration with Georges Fouquet, the son of an enterprising Parisian jeweler. The result of collaboration was an extraordinary collection of jewelry. Impressed by the success, the jeweler ordered Mucha to decorate the facade of his house and design the interior for a new store.

In addition to artistic creativity, Alphonse Mucha was engaged in teaching and analytical activities. In 1901, his book “Decorative Documentation” was published, which became a practical guide for many artists.

It contained samples of all kinds of ornaments, sketches of furniture, household items, and sketches of jewelry. Most of the submitted drawings were later embodied in finished products.

In 1900, the World Exhibition was held in Paris, for which Mucha designed the pavilion of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was at this time that the artist developed an interest in the history of the Slavic peoples, which only intensified while traveling through his native places. The desire to create a cycle of patriotic paintings in the neoclassical style grows stronger in him.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Alphonse Mucha had gained a reputation as a master, whose opinion was listened to with respect by the artistic community not only in Europe, but also in America, which he first visited in 1904. The name of Alphonse Mucha was well known in America.

April 3, 1904 newspaper " New York Daily News"published one of his works - " Friendship"and an article dedicated to the artist’s work. In 1906 Alphonse Mucha collaborated with " German Theater» in New York: he came up with the scenery and curtain design, created decorative panels and costume sketches. He spent four years in the USA, successfully combining painting and teaching.

Returning to the Czech Republic in 1910, the artist began working on realizing his long-time dream - creating a series of paintings “ Slavic epic" This work took almost 18 years.

In 1913, Alphonse Mucha traveled to Russia, visiting Moscow and St. Petersburg. His visit to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra evoked special feelings. The impressions received during the trip were reflected in the “Russian” paintings of this cycle.

In 1918, the new Republic of Czechoslovakia was formed, and its government turned to Alphonse Mucha with a request to develop the design of new state stamps, postage stamps, the state emblem and forms of government documents. This period of his work is marked by the creation of a sketch of the famous stained glass window in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle.

The final painting from the “Slavic Epic” series was painted in 1928, and the artist donated 20 works that poeticized the history of the Slavic peoples to the Czech people. These works aroused less interest among the audience than his early works in the Art Nouveau style, although for Alphonse Mucha himself, working on this grandiose plan was the main meaning of his creative life.

In 1939, after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the artist was arrested by the Nazis. Alphonse Mucha died in prison on July 14, 1939 and was buried in the Visegrad cemetery in Prague. In 1998, a museum was opened in the capital of the Czech Republic in honor of the famous Czech artist.

Creativity and works of Alphonse Mucha

The paintings of Alphonse Mucha, with the exception of the epic paintings “Slavic Epic”, are few in number and practically unknown to the general public. This is mainly chamber genre and portrait painting:

• « Woman in red", 1902
• « Madonna of the Lilies", 1920
• « Winter night", 1920
• « Portrait of Yaroslava", 1930
• « Woman with a burning candle", 1933

Cycle of works “Slavic Epic”

Alphonse Mucha worked on the painting cycle “Slavic Epic” from 1910 to 1928. 20 grandiose canvases were donated to Prague. The artist considered working on this cycle the main work of his life. Some paintings from the cycle:

Lithographs, posters and posters

Alphonse Mucha masterfully used the wide possibilities of lithography technology (printing from the surface of a stone treated with a special chemical composition) in his works. With its help, he achieved a unique play of textures that enhances the artistic expressiveness of works known today throughout the world. The lithography technique allows for replication, while each print retains its artistic originality. Thanks to this, the artist quickly became known throughout the world. In many houses one could see images of his beautiful women.

• Posters for performances of the Renaissance Theater, 1894-1900
• » 1897
• ", series 1896
• ", series 1898
• ", series 1900
• ", 1911

Jewelry

When creating posters for performances in which Sarah Bernhardt shone, Alphonse Mucha depicted unusual jewelry on them. In search of new forms, he studied history and folklore.

These unprecedented jewelry attracted the attention of Georges Fouquet, a Parisian jeweler. As a result of the happy collaboration of two talented artists, absolutely innovative works of jewelry were born.

The most famous work jewelry art, created according to Mucha’s sketch in 1899 – “ Rose hands", a gold bracelet in the shape of a snake, decorated with a scattering of precious stones. For the first time, a sketch of this bracelet appeared on the poster for the play “ Medea»

It is noteworthy that although Alphonse Mucha is rightfully considered a recognized master of Art Nouveau, the artist himself did not admit his affinity for this art. He was categorically against being remembered only for his magnificent decorative works.

Working on the “Slavic Epic,” he hoped to convey to people’s consciousness his spiritual component, patriotism, and concern for the future of his people. However, in the history of art, Alphonse Mucha forever remained a master of perfect forms.

Alphonse Mucha Museum in Prague

In 1998 in the historical center of Prague, in a magnificent Baroque Kaunicki Palace, built in 1720, a museum was opened dedicated to the work of the world famous and beloved Czech artist Alphonse Mucha.

The museum's collection includes more than 100 works. Painting works, drawings, pastels, lithographs, photographs, personal items. Special attention devoted to the works of the most famous, Parisian period of the artist’s work. The museum has a souvenir shop.

Cost of visiting the museum:

• 180 crowns - adults
• 120 CZK – children, students and elderly people over 65 years of age
• 490 CZK – family ticket (2 adults, 2 children)

Museum address: Prague 1, Panská 7. Location on the map of Prague:

Telephone: +420 221-451-333

Official website of the museum: www.mucha.cz

Work schedule: daily from 10:00 to 18:00

Alphonse Mucha made a truly invaluable contribution to the development of the culture of his homeland and the Czech Republic is grateful for all his creations.

Alfons Maria Mucha was born in the Czech town of Ivančice, near Brno,
in the family of a minor court official. The courthouse where the artist's father worked still stands today.
and now the Mucha Jr. Museum is open in it.

The boy drew well from childhood and tried to enter the Prague Academy of Arts, but was unsuccessful.
After high school, he worked as a clerk until he found a job as an assistant through an advertisement.
decorative artist at the Vienna Ringtheater and did not move to the capital of Austria-Hungary.
In Vienna, he attended drawing courses in the evenings and made his first illustrations
To folk songs. After the theater burned down, Alphonse was forced to move to
the Czech city of Mikulov, where he painted portraits of local nobles.
There he met Count Kuen-Belasi, a man who played a very important role in his life.
Mucha was decorating the count's castle, and the aristocrat was fascinated by his work.
As a result, Kuen-Belasi became a patron of the young artist.
He paid for Alphonse to study for two years at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1888, Mucha moved to Paris and continued his education there.
Many at that time flocked to the capital of France - after all, then it was the center of new art:
Eiffel had already designed a three-hundred-meter tower, the World Exhibitions were noisy, and artists were breaking
canons and promoted freedom. However, the count's financial affairs worsened,
and Mucha was left without a livelihood.
In Paris, Alphonse Mucha took up design for the first time, established connections with publishing houses,
started creating covers and illustrations. He painted in oils
and his paintings were translated into woodcuts.
He for a long time worked on small orders until Sarah Bernhardt appeared in his life -
brilliant French actress.
Perhaps Mucha would have achieved success without her, but who knows...

Sarah Bernhardt

Sarah Bernhardt

Sarah Bernhardt on Mucha's poster for the play Gismonda.

In 1893, before Christmas, Mucha received an order to create a poster for the play Gismonda.
Renaissance Theater, owned by Sarah Bernhardt.
The artist depicted a prima who played in the play main role, on an unusually shaped poster -
long and narrow. This emphasized her regal posture, the flowing hair of the actress Mucha
decorated with a wreath of flowers, placed a palm branch in his thin hand, and gave languor to his gaze,
having created general mood tenderness and bliss. Nobody had done anything like this before Mukha.
To get the poster, collectors bribed posters or cut “Gismonda” from fences at night.
It is not surprising that the actress wanted to meet the author and entered into a cooperation contract with him.
Bernard Alphonse worked at the theater for six years. "Lady with Camellias", "Medea", "Samaritan Woman",
“Lorenzachio” - all these posters depicting Bernard were no less popular than “Gismonda”.

Lady with camellias

Samaritan woman

Hamlet

He came up with sketches of theatrical costumes and scenery, designed the stage and even participated in directing.
At the end of the 19th century, the theater was the center social life, they talked about him and
they argued in salons, in the theater ladies demonstrated new toilets and
jewelry, and the men showed off the ladies -
V general theater was food for inspiration and gossip.

Gems

Amethyst

Emerald

In the same Art Nouveau style, the artist created colorful graphic series:
“Seasons”, 1896, “Seasons”, 1899, “Flowers”, 1897, “Months”, 1899, “Stars”, 1900,
which are still widely circulated in the form of art posters to this day.

Luxurious, sensual and languid “Mukha women” were replicated

Poetry

Painting

Music

A little later, Mucha also began to collaborate with the then famous
jeweler Georges Fouquet, who created jewelry based on the artist’s sketches
products. Mukha-style jewelry is still popular today.
During the same period, Mucha developed many packaging, labels and
advertising illustrations for goods and products of various kinds -
starting from expensive Moet & Chandon champagne and ending
toilet soap.

Cleopatra

Head of a Byzantine Blonde

These two compositions, one of which depicts the profile of a blonde, and the other of a brunette,
are among the most expressive works of Alphonse Mucha. In addition to skillfully captured faces
and richness of color nuances, their charm lies in luxurious and fantastic headdresses,
evoking the vanished splendor of Byzantine culture.

Head of a Byzantine Brunette

During the six-year collaboration between the actress and Alphonse Mucha
warm friendly relations arose, as evidenced by their
correspondence. And love? Did Sarah Bernhardt bewitch the Fly in the same way as
galaxies of many other men? Of course, reporters did not remain silent
the actress's relationship with the Czech artist, especially since his name was
speaking in its own way: the same name of the character in the comedy Dumas the son
"Monsieur Alphonse", living off his mistresses.
Some even recommended that he change his name or sign with his godfather's name - Maria.
However, Mucha was not Alphonse in the meaning that Dumas put into this name.
In his correspondence with Bernard there is no hint of what was being gossiped about in high society.

Zodiac

Daydreaming

Indeed, after concluding a contract with Bernard, orders began pouring in for Mukha,
he acquired a spacious workshop, became a welcome guest in high society, where he often appeared
in an embroidered Slavophile blouse, belted with a sash.

A. Mucha Self-portraits

He also had the opportunity to organize personal exhibitions.
In February 1897 in Paris, in a tiny room of a private gallery
"La Bordiniere", his first exhibition opens - 448 drawings, posters and
sketches. She enjoyed incredible success, and soon the inhabitants of Vienna,
Prague and London got the opportunity to see all this too.

Alphonse Mucha was a singer female beauty. Women on
his lithographs are attractive and, as they would say now, sexy.
“Les Femmes Muchas” (“le femme Mucha”, “the women of Mucha”) -
languid, lush and graceful.
A complex interweaving of clothing folds, curls, colors, patterns.
Impeccable composition, perfection of lines and harmony of color.
The Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, like many other artists of his time,
pierced by the arrow of new art. It is interesting that the artist’s tastes required him to even
new technical solutions in the field of lithography. Art Nouveau, or Art Nouveau, swept Europe from
early 1880s, and only the First World War returned to the prose of life
lovers of beauty.

Ivy

Thistle

And then academic norms were collapsing, art critics were loudly arguing, fashion
included oriental motifs. Painters abandoned straight lines,
fantastic lilies, daffodils and orchids bloomed on the canvases,
Butterflies and dragonflies fluttered. Art Nouveau artists believed in the possibility of achieving
harmony with nature, simplicity and moderation, contrasting them with Victorian luxury.
Expressed in art, these virtues were supposed to contribute to the harmonization
relationships between people - after all, beauty now seemed not like something abstract,
beauty has become synonymous with truth.
And, of course, Prince Myshkin’s phrase “Beauty will save the world” was inscribed on the banners of supporters of everything new.

Flowers

One of the first theorists of Art Nouveau was the English painter and art critic John Ruskin.
His ideas were quickly picked up by British Pre-Raphaelite artists who followed
traditions of the Florentine masters of the early Renaissance (“Pre-Raphaelites”, that is, “before Raphael”).
Their brotherhood included John William Waterhouse, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
those of whom England is now proud. The Pre-Raphaelite brush created a new female image
la femme fatale (“la femme fatale”, “the fatal woman”) - mysterious, mystical and beautiful.
The artists' muses were Proserpina, Psyche, Ophelia, Lady of Shalott -
victims of tragic or unrequited love. And the painters drew inspiration from their stormy
personal life. It was these images that fascinated Alphonse Mucha.

Carnation

Princess Hyacinth

Moon

The series “Seasons”, “Art”, “Precious Stones”, “Moon and Stars” and
other interesting lithographs that were republished as postcards,
playing cards and sold out instantly - they all depicted women.
Mucha worked a lot with models, whom he invited to his studio, drew and photographed them
in luxurious draperies. He provided photographs of models with comments -
« beautiful hands", "beautiful hips", "beautiful profile" ...
and then from the selected “parts” he put together the perfect picture.
Often, while drawing, Mucha covered the faces of the models with a scarf so that they
imperfection did not destroy the ideal image he had invented.

Nature

At the turn of the century, Alphonse Mucha became a real master, to whom he carefully
listened to in artistic circles.
Sometimes even the Art Nouveau style in France was called the “Mukha style.”
Therefore, it seems natural that the artist’s book was published in 1901
"Decorative documentation".
This is a visual guide for artists, on the pages of which
various ornamental patterns, fonts, drawings were reproduced
furniture, various utensils, cutlery sets, jewelry, watches, combs, brooches.
The original technique is lithography, gouache, pencil and charcoal drawing.

In 1906, Alphonse Mucha went to America to earn money.
necessary to realize the dreams of his entire creative life:
creating paintings for the glory of their Motherland and all the Slavs.
In the same year he married his student Maria Khitilova, whom he passionately loved and
who was 22 years younger than him.

Master Mucha among the female images of the “Four Seasons” series.
Image on the wall of a jewelry boutique in Austin, Texas.

Few people know about the monumental historical paintings of Alphonse Mucha.
but the world still admires his “women’s collections”,
although the artist himself considered only these paintings to be the main work of his life..
In 1910 he returned to Prague and concentrated all his efforts
on “Slavic Epic”. This monumental cycle was given to them as a gift
to the Czech people and the city of Prague, but was not successful with criticism.

At the same time, he developed a sketch for the stained glass window of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague
(honoring Saints Cyril and Methodius)
and painted many portraits of his wife, two daughters, and son Jiri.
After the proclamation of the Republic in 1918, Mucha was entrusted with the production of the first Czechoslovak
postage stamps, banknotes and the state emblem.

Panel from the cycle "Slavic Epic"

In the spring of 1913, Alphonse Mucha went to Russia to collect materials for future paintings in the cycle.
The artist visited St. Petersburg and Moscow, where he visited the Tretyakov Gallery.
Especially strong impression The Trinity-Sergius Lavra affected him.
The choice of the year of travel to Russia was not accidental. In 1913, the three hundredth anniversary of the Romanov dynasty was celebrated.

Our Father

And one more very important side of the life of this great admirer of female beauty
(just look at his poetic portraits of women).
His personal and family life. Against the backdrop of many loves, Mucha has always been
happy with love for the only one. In 1906, already forty-six years old,
famous, he married his young student in Paris and
compatriot Maria Shitilova. She was and remained until the end of her life
his favorite Muse, his model. Was younger than the artist for 22 years. AND
adored him. Sincerely and selflessly. For by the time of their marriage his debts
were much larger than his fortune. However, they both knew: "money is a thing
profitable" - and with uneven, irregular incomes they gave birth to and raised a son and
two daughters - red-haired beauties, so similar in face and article to
dazzling mother. Then he painted them, daughters, and
singing lines of their figures, in their features I still found her, my adored
Maria, because until the last hour he did not want and could not get rid of her charms.

Daughters

Yaroslav's daughter

Artist

Young girl in Moravian costume

Woman with a burning candle

Mucha died in 1939 from pneumonia. The cause of the illness was arrest and interrogation
in the German-occupied Czech capital: the painter’s Slavophilism was so well known
that he was even included in the named lists of enemies of the Reich.

Fate

A museum in Prague is dedicated to the work of Alphonse Mucha.
exposition of the cycle “Slavic Epic” in Moravsky Krumlov and an exhibition about early years his life
in a renovated former building. courts in Ivančice.
Mucha's works are included in the collections of many prominent museums and galleries around the world.
Construction plans are currently being developed in Prague's Stromovka Park,
not far from the former exhibition complex, a special building for exhibiting the “Slavic Epic”.