Alphonse Mucha: The Art Nouveau Spirit

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) was one of the most important decorative artists working in Paris at the turn of the century. His distinctive and original posters and his decorative panels in le style Mucha became almost synonymous with French Art Nouveau. The admirer and iconographer of Sarah Bernhardt, he was also well known as the creator of familiar advertisements and as a book illustrator. Yet there was much more to Mucha's achievement than this. At the height of his career as a decorative artist, he became convinced that art should serve ideas, he became chief artistic and cultural adviser to the interwar Czech government, and he completed a major and controversial fresco cycle, the Slav Epic, as well as portraits and large symbolic paintings.

This lavishly illustrated book, published in association with Art Services International, Washington, D.C., is the catalogue for an exhibition of Mucha's work that will tour the United States, beginning in San Diego in 1998. The book includes discussions and reproductions of paintings, posters, panneaux decoratifs, pastels, drawings, and illustrations from throughout Mucha's career. Additionally, the authors provide essays on Mucha's Paris years, his association with Sarah Bernhardt, the importance of American patronage on his later work, his graphic and painterly techniques, and the problems connected with the conservation of the large canvases.

Mucha's distinctive and original style in le style Mucha became almost synonymous with French Art Nouveau, and he was well known as the creator of familiar advertisements and a book illustrator. However, there was much more to his achievement. At the height of his career as a decorative artist, he became convinced that art should serve ideas, and he became the chief artistic and cultural adviser to the interwar Czech government. He also completed a major and controversial fresco cycle, the Slav Epic, as well as portraits and large symbolic paintings.

The lavishly illustrated book is the catalogue for an exhibition of Mucha's work that will tour the United States, beginning in San Diego in 1998. The book includes discussions and reproductions of his various works, as well as essays on his Paris years, his association with Sarah Bernhardt, the importance of American patronage on his later work, his graphic and painterly techniques, and the problems connected with the conservation of the large canvases. This comprehensive treatment of Mucha's entire oeuvre is the first of its kind, providing a thorough examination of this influential and versatile artist.

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