Paintings by the artist Alphonse Mucha and Art Nouveau style. Modernist artist Alphonse Mucha: biography and creativity, description of masterpieces Artist Mucha biography

Alphonse Mucha loved to draw since childhood, but his attempt to enter the Prague Academy of Arts was unsuccessful. Therefore, he began his creative career as a decorator, poster and invitation card artist. He also did not refuse to paint walls and ceilings in rich houses.

Once Alphonse Mucha worked on decorating the ancestral castle of Count Kuen-Belassi, and he was so impressed by the artist’s work that he agreed to pay for his studies at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. There he mastered the technique of lithography, which later became his calling card.

After studying in Munich, he moved to Paris, where he studied at the Colarossi Academy and made a living making advertising posters, posters, restaurant menus, calendars and business cards.

The artist’s meeting with actress Sarah Bernhardt was fateful. When the actress saw the poster, made using the technique of multicolor lithography, she was delighted and wanted to see the author. On her recommendation, Mukha received the position of chief decorator of the theater and since then has designed posters, costumes and scenery for her performances.

In Russia the name of the famous Czech artist Alphonse Mucha is little known. Meanwhile, it literally became a symbol of painting from the end of the “golden” - the beginning of the “silver” centuries. His style (in painting, architecture, small decorative forms) was called the “Mukha style.” Or – “modern”, “jugendstil”, “secession”. The name came from France. And the artist himself is sometimes considered French in Europe. But that's not true.

Alphonse Mucha is an outstanding Czech artist, master of theater and advertising posters. One of the brightest artists Art Nouveau style

Luxurious and sensual “Mukha women” were replicated and sold in thousands of copies in posters, postcards, playing cards Oh. The offices of secular aesthetes, the halls of the best restaurants, and 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.

In 1898-1899, Alphonse Mucha worked on covers and illustrations for the Parisian magazine Cocorico. On its pages was printed and executed in pencil and gouache the cycle “12 months” - images of female figures, sometimes naked, as well as graceful ladies’ heads. The women in his lithographs are attractive and, as they would say now, sexy.

At the turn of the century, Alphonse Mucha became a real master, to whom the artistic community listened attentively. Sometimes even the Art Nouveau style in France was called the Mucha style. Therefore, it seems natural that the artist’s book “Decorative Documentation” was published in 1901.

This is a visual guide for artists, on the pages of which a variety of ornamental patterns, fonts, drawings of furniture, various utensils, cutlery sets, jewelry, watches, combs, and brooches are reproduced.

The original technique is lithography, gouache, pencil and charcoal drawing. Many of the artist’s works were subsequently made in metal and wood, for example, gold brooches and a necklace with portraits of Sarah Bernhardt, intended for the actress herself.

In 1906, Alphonse Mucha left for America to earn the money necessary to fulfill his entire dream. creative life: creating paintings for the glory of one’s Motherland and all the Slavs.

Despite creative and financial success in the United States, American life Mukha was burdened by her focus solely on money, he dreamed of returning to the Czech Republic. In 1910 he returned to Prague and focused all his efforts on the “Slavic Epic”. This monumental cycle was donated by him to the Czech people and the city of Prague, but was not a success among art critics.

All of Mucha’s works are distinguished by their own unique style. The figure of a beautiful and girlishly graceful woman, freely but inextricably inscribed in an ornamental system of flowers and leaves, symbols and arabesques, became his trademark.

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.

Alphonse Mucha's paintings are framed by intricate floral patterns that do not hide their Byzantine or eastern origin. In contrast to the disturbing paintings of his contemporary masters - Klimt, Vrubel, Bakst - the works of Alphonse Mucha breathe calm and bliss. The Art Nouveau style in Mukha’s work is the style of women and flowers.

The open sensuality of Mucha’s works still fascinates viewers, despite the fact that each era creates its own new forms of the erotic ideal. All critics note the “singing” lines in Mukha’s paintings and the exquisite coloring, warm, like a woman’s body.

A lot of jewelry based on Mukha’s sketches was made for the bride and then the artist’s wife, Maria Khitilova, whom the artist and his friends called Marushka. Khitilova was Mukha's compatriot. They got married in 1903 and lived together all their lives.

Maria was younger than the artist by 22 years and outlived it by about the same amount. There was no material calculation in her feelings for the artist, because at the time of their wedding, Alphonse Mucha’s debts far exceeded his net worth.

Maria Chytilová became Mukha’s constant model, and her features are easily discernible in many paintings. Their marriage produced two daughters, who, when they grew up, also became characters in many of the artist’s paintings. The red-haired Slavic beauties in the paintings of Alphonse Mucha were dictated precisely by the images of the artist’s wife and his daughters - they all had this type of appearance.

Many of the visual elements of his work can be found in the works of modern designers, illustrators and advertising artists. Mucha worshiped the ideal of artistic versatility. He was not only a painter and graphic artist. Mucha knew how to do something that few others could do: he brought beauty into everyday life, made him look at the secondary art of posters, playbills and the design of various goods in a new way.

The artist created not only real paintings, but also made simple things that surround us into works of art. Being a typical embodiment of artistic searches turn of XIX-XX centuries, the “Mukha style” became a model for a whole generation of graphic artists and designers. And today we imagine the Art Nouveau style through the works of Alphonse Mucha, without knowing the name of the artist.

We remember not so much his name as his works, which continue to be popular both among museum visitors and designers.

Mucha expressed the Art Nouveau style in clear, distinct and expressive forms, easily remembered even by an inexperienced viewer. The purity of expression of style makes the work of Alphonse Mucha a unique phenomenon in history

The artist died on July 14, 1939 - exactly 4 months after the occupation of the Czech Republic and Moravia by Nazi troops and 10 days before his seventy-ninth birthday.

Nowadays, there is a museum in Prague dedicated to the artist’s work. There you can also find a lot of souvenirs with images of paintings and illustrations by Alphonse Mucha.

"Slavic epic"

Alfons Mucha is a Czech-Moravian painter, theater artist, illustrator, jewelry designer and poster artist, one of the most famous representatives"modern" style.

Biography of Alphonse Mucha

Early period

Alfons 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. Everything is yours free time He devoted himself to studies 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 Kautsky-Brioschi-Burghardt art workshops as a theater scenery designer. 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, objects applied arts(carpets, curtains, 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 of 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 Oriental 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 emerged from his brush, depicting turning points in history. Slavic peoples, in particular, “Slavs in the Historical Homeland” (“Slavs in the Ancestral Homeland”), “Simeon, Tsar of Bulgaria”, “Sermon of Master Jan 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 Prague in the Art Nouveau style - the Municipal House, the Europe and Imperial hotels, creates 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.

Myself female image It was used then 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 USA. 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 his 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 oriental 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 been combined before. In Mukha’s works one can find clear confirmation of this: pastel colors, exotic shapes, as if repeating the image beautiful lady, located in the foreground with her flying unrealistically long hair, dressed in light clothes, akin to Greek tunics - all this created a unique harmony and unity due to the interpenetration of elements female figure and background.

Moving on to the consideration of the ornament, it should be noted that the most frequently used geometric figure in Mucha’s works is the circle 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 has already absorbed 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.

Carnation, 1898
Lily, 1898

And soon he began to call her Marushka and write tender letters: My angel, how grateful I am to you for your letter... Spring has come to my soul, flowers have bloomed... I am so happy that I am ready to burst into tears, sing, embrace the world.

In his letters, Mukha admitted to Marushka that he had been in love only once before her, at the age of sixteen. That girl was fifteen, apparently her name was Yaroslava. She died - tuberculosis claimed many lives at the end of the nineteenth century. Her death was a tragedy for Mukha’s subtle and sensitive nature. From that time on, Mukha, as he himself writes, turned all his ardent love to his homeland and our people. I love them like my beloved... Alfons called everyone who was with him before Chytilova “strange women” who only brought him torment. And he dreamed so much “all the years of exile about a Czech heart, about a Czech girl.”

Red Cloak, 1902

By the time I met Maria Mucha, the series “Flowers”, “Seasons”, “Art”, “Time of Day”, “Precious Stones”, “Moon and Stars” and other interesting lithographs had already been created, which were republished in the form of postcards, playing cards cards and dispersed instantly - they all depicted women. Mucha worked a lot with models, whom he invited to his studio, painted and photographed them in luxurious draperies or naked. 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 his models with a scarf so that their imperfections would not destroy the ideal image he had invented.

Yaroslava and Jiri - the artist's children

But after his marriage to Marushka in 1906, the artist painted less and less of the demigoddesses familiar to the viewer - apparently, a real woman replaced a mirage and memory. Mucha and his family moved to Prague, where he began creating the “Slavic Epic”, developed a sketch for the stained glass window of St. Vitus Cathedral and painted many portraits of his wife, daughter Yaroslava, and son Jiri. Mucha died in 1939 from pneumonia. The cause of the illness was arrest and interrogation in the Czech capital occupied by the Germans: the painter’s Slavophilism was so well known that he was even included in the personal lists of enemies of the Reich.

Madonna with the Lilies, 1905

Marushka stayed with her husband until he last breath. She outlived her husband by twenty years and tried to write memoirs about him. The love that was between Mucha and Chytilova is called in Czech “láska jako trám” - that is, very strong feeling, literal translation: “love is like a beam.”

From Mukha’s letter: How wonderful and joyful it is to live for someone, before you I had only one shrine - our homeland, and now I have set up an altar and for you, dear, I pray for both of you...

Are men of the twenty-first century capable of such words?..

Around the world

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 work made a great impression on the count, who offered help to the young artist and became his patron of the arts. 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 Kuena-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 mysterious stranger with a captivating smile on her lips framed by an intricate ornament made up 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 collaboration became 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.

Except 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” canvases 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. Alfons 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 artistic expressiveness 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 cooperation of the 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. Paintings, 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.

The work of the Polish artist of the first half of the twentieth century, unfortunately, is little known in our time. Although the originality and originality of his talent found many fans all over the world. No one will remain indifferent while admiring the series of paintings “Flowers”, “Seasons”, “Slavic Virgins”, “Months”, in which the artist glorifies feminine beauty, the beauty of nature and acts as a connoisseur folk traditions and rituals.

Biography of Alphonse Mucha

Alfons was born in Moravia in the small provincial town of Ivančice in 1860. It was the end of the 19th century that left its mark on all of his work; even in the middle of the 20th century, he did not lose his poetry and dreaminess, trying in a stormy, turbulent time to reflect the soul of the people in his works.

His father Ondzhej, a tailor by profession, a poor man, remained a widower with several children and entered into a second marriage (most likely for convenience) with the daughter of a wealthy miller Amalia, who later became the mother of a famous artist.

Amalia died early, but Ondjei was the best of fathers for his large family and all his children, even girls, which was surprising at that time, received secondary education.

Alfons studied at the Slavic Gymnasium in the small Polish city of Brno until he was 17, and then his father managed to get the young man into the Academy of Arts in Prague. So Alphonse became a student, but it must be said that he was far from the best of students. He shamelessly skipped classes, including the Law of God, which was considered unacceptable, and received excellent marks only in drawing and singing.

The student was soon expelled from the Academy due to “any lack of talent for art” and became a clerk in the city court of Ivanichitsa. Two years later, having accidentally stumbled upon an advertisement for a vacancy for a decorator in a Viennese company that produces theatrical props, he gets a job there as a set designer. But in 1881 the company went bankrupt, and Alphonse was again left out of business.

Thanks to his father’s efforts, he moves to the southern city of Mikulov, where he does whatever he has to: draws a little theater scenery, works in miniatures, portraits, posters and sometimes, for lack of other work, paints.

And then the artist was lucky: he was asked to paint the castle of Count Kuen of Hrushovanov, where he painted the ceilings in the then accepted style Italian Renaissance. After this, he was sent to the count's brother at Gundegg Castle in distant Tyrol. Here he not only painted the rooms, but also painted a portrait of the countess and the entire family. In his free time, which was rare, the artist managed to get out into nature, where he avidly drew from life.

The Viennese painting professor Kray comes to visit the count; he becomes interested in the works of the young artist and convinces him to continue his education. The satisfied count acts as a patron of Alphonse and sends him at his own expense to the Academy of Art of the city of Munich. So, in 1885 the artist continued his professional education. Two years later he transferred to the Academy of Arts in Paris, and immediately into the third year.

This is the best time in his studies, but it will soon end: the count stopped paying the scholarship, and the young man had to rely only on his own strength. In some memoirs, Alphonse Mucha hints at periods of hardship and adversity, but already in 1991 he established strong connections with the publisher Armand Collin, and also writes posters for performances with the participation of Sarah Bernhardt. The great actress liked the works of the young artist so much that she entered into a six-year contract with him for all new works.

Thus, Alphonse enters a period of prosperity and fame: exhibitions of his works are held with great excitement in many major European cities, and changeable Fortune finally knocked on the artist’s door.

Slavic Epic

Nowadays, it is believed that the works of this cycle are the artist’s most valuable investment in the treasury of world art. Much later, in the “Parisian period,” Alphonse Mucha revived and multiplied his successful discoveries and gave us new creations.

Love for the Motherland, its nature, its history and its traditions is an integral part of the work of a true artist. Therefore, already as a mature creator, Alphonse Mucha plans to create a series of paintings dedicated to the history of the Slavs. This idea was not born at one moment, he nurtured it for a long time, traveling around Slavic countries, including in Russia. Work on the epic, which brought the artist worldwide fame, lasted 20 years, and twenty huge canvases were painted depicting the climactic moments of history.

All the artist’s works are extremely optimistic - they carry a huge charge of faith in their country and its people. He donated the entire collection of paintings to his beloved city of Prague. In 1963, after the death of the artist, the public gained access to the entire collection of paintings and to this day admire the amazing gift of a true patriot, Alphonse Mucha.

Love in the life of an artist

It is in Paris that Mucha meets his love, his muse - the Czech girl Maria Chytilova. In 1906, they got married, although Maria is twenty years younger than Alphonse, but she sincerely loves him and admires his work.

For Alphonse, this young girl became, as he himself said, his second love after his Motherland. Together with her, he moves to live in America, with which he signed lucrative contracts for a series of works. The artist’s children were born here, but dreams of a distant homeland never left him, and in 1910 Alphonse’s family returned to Moravia.

The last period of creativity

In 1928, after finishing work on the Slavic Epic, Mucha worked on creating the official banknotes of independent Czechoslovakia and a collection of stamps. All his life, the artist never tired of learning new things, searching for himself and striving for self-expression; all his endeavors were “doomed to success”, thanks to his original talent and tireless work.

With the coming to power of the fascists and the propaganda of racist theories, interest in Mucha's work declines. He is declared a pan-Slavist, his patriotism runs counter to the propaganda of racism, and paintings glorifying beauty native nature, do not fit into the propaganda of violence and cruelty.

The artist was declared an enemy of the Third Reich and imprisoned. Although he was soon released, his health was undermined, and in 1939 Alphonse Mucha died. Before his death, the artist managed to publish his memoirs, and according to his will, he was buried in the Czech Republic at the Visegrad cemetery.

Unfairly forgotten

The only Alphonse Mucha museum is open in Prague. On the initiative of his children and grandchildren, it was opened in 1998. It is here that you can see the poster for the play “Gismonda” that changed the master’s life. The museum houses exhibits that accompany the artist’s life and illuminate his work.

Many of the objects exhibited here were donated to the museum by the artist’s family, from which you can learn about his personal life and character, habits and relationships in the family.