Muses & Mysticism - Female Forms

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) was a Czech painter and decorative artist born in southern Moravia, a Slavic province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He later moved to Paris to work for the lithographer Champenois. As a versatile designer of wallpapers, textiles, silverware and jewellery, Mucha’s work is instantly recognizable and was widely emulated, particularly after two volumes of his graphic designs were published in 1902. His first commission, a poster for Sarah Bernhardt for her performance in Gismonda in 1894, was the beginning of his success. Like many artists of the period, he was drawn to theosophy and the occult. When he fell from popularity towards 1910, Mucha returned to Prague and dedicated his efforts to the Slav Epic – 20 large paintings depicting Czech and Slavic history.