Alfons Mucha - 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
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. 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”. The luxurious, sensual and languid “women of Mukha” 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 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.
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 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 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 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.
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 Gandegg 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 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 best time in his studies, but it soon ends: 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.
Alfons Maria Mucha (1860-1939) - outstanding Czech artist, master of theatrical and advertising posters, illustrator, jewelry designer. One of the brightest representatives of the Art Nouveau style. In our country, the name of the 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 (and is still called today) “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. On the left is a self-portrait of the artist.Maxim Mrvica - Claudine
Spring |
Winter |
Yaroslava, 1925
The boy drew well from childhood and tried to enter the Prague Academy of Arts, but to no avail. After high school, he worked as a clerk until he found an advertisement for a job as an assistant decorative artist at the Vienna Ringtheater and moved to the capital of Austria-Hungary. In Vienna, he attended drawing courses in the evenings and made the first illustrations for 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 Khuen von Belassi, 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.
Girl in a Czech costume
In 1888, Mucha moved to Paris and continued his education there. Many at that time flocked to the capital of France - after all, at that time it was the center of new art: Eiffel had already designed a three-hundred-meter tower, the World Exhibitions were noisy, and artists broke the canons and promoted freedom. However, the count's financial affairs deteriorated, and Mucha was left without a livelihood. He for a long time worked on small orders until Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), a brilliant French actress. Perhaps Mucha would have achieved success without her, but who knows...
Portrait of Milada Cerny
In 1893, before Christmas, Mucha received an order to create a poster for the play “Gismonda” at the Renaissance Theater, which was 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; Mukha decorated the flowing hair of the actress with a wreath of flowers, placed a palm branch in her thin hand, and added languor to her gaze, creating general mood tenderness and bliss.
Nobody had done anything like this before Mukha. Before Gismonda, Sarah Bernhardt had only one noteworthy poster, made by the Swiss decorator Grasset - Joan of Arc. But the Gismond poster was much more interesting. To get it, collectors bribed pasters or cut “Gismonda” from fences at night.
Flowers, 1897 |
Fruit, 1897 |
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. “The Lady of the Camellias”, “Medea”, “The Samaritan Woman”, “Lorenzachio” - all these posters depicting Bernard were no less popular than “Gismonda”. He came up with sketches 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 and argued about him in the salons, in the theater ladies showed off new clothes and jewelry, and men showed off the ladies - in general, the theater was food for inspiration and gossip. And, of course, Sarah Bernhardt, and especially her personal life, has always been the object of attention of journalists and the public. There were plenty of reasons. Bernard inspired poets and writers, men of blue blood fell in love with her.
Oscar Wilde poetically called her “a beautiful creature with the voice of singing stars.” Victor Hugo gave Bernard a diamond, symbolizing the tears that he could not hold back during the performance with her participation. The actress loved to play along with the audience. So, she allegedly did not know who the father of her only son was, and, to the indignation of respectable ladies, she called him “the fruit of a wonderful misunderstanding.”
Heraldic knighthood
During the six-year collaboration between the actress and Alphonse, a warm, friendly relationship arose, as evidenced by their correspondence. And love? Did Sarah Bernhardt bewitch the Fly in the same way as a galaxy of other men? “Madame Sarah Bernhardt seems to have been created to portray grief-stricken grandeur. All her movements are full of nobility and harmony,” critics wrote. Of course, reporters did not remain silent about the actress’s relationship with the Czech artist, especially since his name was telling in its own way: it was also the name of the character in the comedy Dumas’ son “Monsieur Alphonse,” who lives off his mistresses.
Spring night
Indeed, after concluding a contract with Bernard, orders began pouring in for Mucha, he acquired a spacious workshop, and became a welcome guest in high society, where he often appeared in an embroidered Slavophile blouse, belted with a sash. He also had the opportunity to organize personal exhibitions. Some even recommended that he change his name or sign with his godfather's name - Maria.
Poetry, 1898 |
Music, 1898 |
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. Rather, it was patronage, in some ways, perhaps, akin to the patronage of an older sister.
Dear Mucha,” Bernard wrote to the artist in 1897, “ask me to introduce you to society. Listen, dear friend, to my advice: exhibit your work. I will put in a word for you... The subtlety of the line, the originality of the composition, the amazing color of your paintings will captivate the public, and after the exhibition I foretell fame for you. I squeeze both your hands in mine, my dear Mukha. Sarah Bernhardt.
Girl with flowing hair and tulips, 1920
The year they met, Sarah was fifty, and Mukha was thirty-four. Mucha wrote that, of course, Bernard is beautiful, but “on stage, under artificial lighting and careful makeup.” Mucha admired Bernard as an actress, even when she was over sixty. In those years, Mucha lived in the USA, and Sarah Bernhardt came to this country on tour. They met more than once, and Mucha certainly wrote about these meetings to his fiancée Marie Chytilová, assuring that there had always been only friendly relations between him and Bernard.
Woman with a burning candle, 1933
Maria Khitilova was Mukha's model for a long time. Her features are easily discernible in many of the artist’s paintings. There are much more reasons to trust Mukha than newspaper gossip - Mukha was too noble to deceive his bride. However, Mucha was not the chaste ascetic that Jiri Mucha, the artist’s son, presented him in his book. Jiri claimed that before meeting his mother, Alphonse allegedly did not know women. But that's not true. For example, Mucha lived for seven whole years with the Frenchwoman Bertha de Lalande.
Salome
The artist met Chytilova only in 1903 - Maria Chytilova herself arranged their meeting. She was Czech, finished high school art school in Prague and at twenty-one she left for Paris. For shelter and board, she lived with a French family, helped with housework and took care of the children. Maria first saw Mukha in Prague National Theater and fell in love like a girl, although she was old enough to be the master’s daughter - she was twenty-two years younger than him. The girl asked her uncle, an art historian, to recommend her to Mucha as a compatriot and aspiring artist. She attached her letter to the recommendation with a request to accept her on the day and hour when it would be convenient for Alphonse. And Mukha invited Maria to his atelier...
Day Rush, 1899 |
Morning Awakening, 1899 |
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 annotated photographs of models - “beautiful hands”, “beautiful hips”, “beautiful profile”... and then from the selected “parts” he put together an ideal 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, a very strong feeling, literal translation: “love 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
Amethyst, 1900 |
Rubin, 1900 |
Portrait of Yaroslava (the artist's daughter), 1930
Prophetess, 1896
Spirit of Spring
Dream Evening - Night sleep, 1898
Ivy, 1901
Fate, 1920
Zdenka Cerny, 1913
Portrait of a woman |
Portrait of Madame Mucha |
Portrait of a wife, Maruška, 1908
Gold plated bracelet
Seasons, 1898
Head of a Byzantine woman. Blonde, 1897
Morning dawn
Head of a Byzantine woman. Brunette, 1897
Slavs on their Land. 1912
Introduction of Slavic liturgy. Fragment. 1912
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, at the 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 a new muse for Alphonse, 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 the history of the 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. So, Mukha’s granddaughter Jarmila, who is still alive, created a project to create decorative items based on his 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, the author began his creative career with illustrations in fashion magazines. Collaborating with many famous magazines and newspapers, such as " Folk 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”, “Precious Stones”, as well as the world-famous “Slavic Epic”. Let's consider 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 real things in the plot historical events which 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 very same famous work The painting “Apotheosis” is considered from this series Slavic history" The canvas depicts four eras of development at once Slavic culture and stories: 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"
At the end of the 19th century, the artist was 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, and 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 elegance and beauty female images, so beloved by the artist. Here you can also see the famous poster for theatrical production"Gismonda", which changed the life of a 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 famous paintings"Slavic epic". Visitors will also learn details of the author’s personal life. 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 an inexperienced viewer, still remains popular among modern craftsmen 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.
