A Trip to Prague and the Art of Alphonse Mucha
I have always loved Art Nouveau. The perfect art movement for a lover of blossoms, blooms, pattern and natural form. Growing up in our family home, we had a few of Mucha’s posters displayed, so his work was familiar to me. He was a graphic designer who really knew how to create an impression that went beyond the product.
So last week when I visited a friend in Prague, I was really excited to see the Mucha Museum. There were so many works of art that I had never seen before, and they were so beautiful in the flesh.
Prague itself is a captivating city – the buildings are tall and embellished with ornate swirls and elegant faces. Every street surprises with ice cream colours and intricate mouldings.
We spent so much time in restaurants and cafés, soaking up a proudly independent culture. It was really lovely having our friend and Czech guide Bara as we wove our way through the streets avoiding the crowds. Rich creamy foods were consumed at regular intervals in restaurants where revolutions were plotted and planned. We sat in cafés where thinkers like Einstein and Kafka had dined and sipped.
The Mucha Museum is a short walk from the famous Old Town Square, with its enchanting astronomical clock and a suitably tragic Prague legend. The story says that after Master Hanuš perfected the clock, the councillors had him blinded so that he could never make anything as beautiful elsewhere. In revenge, he stopped the clock, and it remained broken for years. So sad – but a suitably dramatic tale for such an extraordinary object.
But back to Mucha. I love looking into the life of artists; whether they are aware of it or not, you can see how the world they were born into affects their art. Alphonse Mucha was born in Ivančice, Moravia, in 1860, in what is now the Czech Republic. He grew up during the Czech National Revival and became a passionate believer in an independent Czech nation. His application to the Prague Academy of Art was unsuccessful, but a chance encounter with a church fresco helped convince him that becoming a professional artist was possible.
Mucha resolved to be an artist, but the path was far from smooth. He worked as a theatre scenery painter in Vienna before studying art in Munich and Paris and supporting himself as an illustrator. At one point he even shared a studio with Paul Gauguin.
His breakthrough came at the end of 1894 when he created the poster for Sarah Bernhardt’s Gismonda. When it appeared across Paris in January 1895, its long, elegant proportions and decorative style caused a sensation. Mucha became a household name, helped by his advertising and illustration work in Paris, and the distinctive ‘Style Mucha’ was born.
All his life Mucha had a passion for the Czech people and their culture. One of the last things we got to see was the Slav Epic. He devoted the years from 1911 to 1926 to creating this amazing collection of 20 monumental canvases, the largest measuring more than six by eight metres. They are ginormous, with depth and detail and mood-setting colours.
In 1928, Mucha and his American sponsor Charles Crane presented the complete series to the City of Prague as a gift to the nation, with the condition that a suitable building should be provided for its permanent display. During the German occupation the canvases were hidden in underground storage, preserving them for future generations.
It was really great finding out more about the culture and history of an artist I love. Prague is a fascinating place, the Czechs are lovely people and the Art Nouveau influence on the city is, I think, something to savour.
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