Karl Khuen. The Count commissioned Mucha to restore
portraits of his family and
decorate the dining room of
his castle in Hrušovany with
murals. While working on
this project, Mucha met the
Count’s brother, Egon, an
amateur artist who admired
Mucha’s work and became
his patron. In 1885, with the
financial support of Count
Egon, Mucha was able to
attend the Munich Academy of Art. There, Mucha
received his first academic
training. Subsequently, in
1887, while still under the
patronage of the Count,
Mucha moved to Paris,
where he studied at the Académie Julian and Académie
Colarossi. Since Paris at
this time was the great cultural center of the Western
world, Mucha was able to
observe the work of some of
the most progressive artists
of his generation and study
avant-garde artistic theories
and ideas.
After arriving in Paris,
Mucha received money in
addition to the stipend he
received from the Count
by creating illustrations for
minor magazines and jour-
nals. For the most part, his
early illustrations were competent, but traditional and
unremarkable for this time
(Figure 1). One print (Figure 2) from this phase of
his career, however, foreshadows his Art Nouveau
style that would not fully
emerge until years later.
The background imagery in
this composition depicts the
mythological horse Pegasus
mounted by a young boy
who is framed by the moon.
This arrangement, an idealized figure crowned by a
curved object, was repeatedly used in many of his classic Art Nouveau designs.
Pegasus reappears in some
of his later prints as well.
On the afternoon of
Christmas Eve 1894, Mucha
accepted a commission that
would dramatically alter the
rest of his life. The internationally renowned actress,
Sarah Bernhardt, was about
to star in the play Gismonda,
opening in Paris. To advertise the play, a poster had
been made, but the design
of this work was rejected by
Bernhardt. She demanded
that a new poster be produced that would be ready
OnV
i e w
Ma
g a z i n e
.
c om
•
O
MUCHA: Master Artist
of Art Nouveau
Figure 1:
Alphonse Mucha,
Le Petit Français illustré,
July 7 1894;
Collection of Patrick M. Rowe.
Figure 2:
Alphonse Mucha,
La Vie Populaire,
August 14, 1890;
Collection of Patrick M. Rowe.
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2015
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