Alphonse Maria Mucha

 

Alphonse Maria Mucha(1860-1939) is most often remembered for the prominent role he played in shaping the aesthetics of French Art Nouveau at the turn of the centrury. As a struggling and relatively unknown artist of Czech origin living in paris, Mucha achieved immediate fame when, in December 1894, he accepted a commission to create a poster for one of the greatest actresses of this time, Sarah Bernhardt. Though the printer was apprehensive about submitting Mucha’s final design because of it’s new unconventional style, Bernard loved it and so did the public.’Le style Mucha’ , as Art Nouveau was known in it’s earlist days, was born. The success of that first poster brought a 6 years contract between Berhardt and Mucha and in the following years his work for her and others included costumes and stage deccorations, designs for magazines andf book covers, jewelleryt and furnature and numerous posters. Mucha returned to Czechoslovakia in 1910, where he dedicated the remainder of his life to the production of an epicc series of 20 paintings depicting the history of the slav people.

1860 - born in Ivancice in Southern Moravia on the 24^th July.

1879 - Goes to Vienna to work as a theatrical scene painter.

1883 - Invited by Count Khuen-Belassi to decorate his castle at Emmahof in Austria

1885 - Begins studies at the Munich  Academy of Arts, sponsored by Count  Khuen- Belessi.

1887 -  Moves to Paris to study at the Academie Julian

1892  - Commissioned to illustrate “scenes et episodes de l’histoire d’Allemagne” by Charles Seignobos.

1894  - Designs his first poster for Sarah Bernardt, Gismonda, a play by Victor Sardou. This success leads to a six-year contract with “la divine Sarah”

1896  - Mucha’s first decorative panels “The four seasons” are printed.

1897 – Febuary: first one man exhibition at the boudinere gallery, Paris, showing 107 works, followed in May by the Salon des Cent’s Mucha exhibition, which shows 448 works.

1899  -  Recieves commission from the Austro- Hungarien Government for the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition.

1900  -  Begins to work on designs for Georges Fouquet’s jewellery shop, one of the   outstanding Art Nouveau interiors.

http://www.mucha.cz/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfons_Mucha

http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/mucha.htm

http://www.muchafoundation.org/MHome.aspx

http://www.mucha-museum.co.jp/index_e.html