MUCHA: Master Artist
of Art Nouveau
by New Year’s Day. Mucha,
being at the right spot at the
right time, was asked to take
on the task. For this poster,
titled Gismonda (Figure
3), Mucha created a design
that was strikingly original.
The narrow, vertically elongated shape, extensive use
of rich gold ink, and exotic
Byzantine-inspired mosaic
decoration used in the composition had never been
seen before in the history of
poster making. Bernhardt
was so pleased with the outcome, she entered into an
agreement to work exclusively with Mucha for the
next six years.
Because of the patronage
of Sarah Bernhardt, Mucha
was catapulted to the forefront of the Art Nouveau
movement. As a result of the
popularity of his work during the late 19th and early
20th centuries, any painting, sculpture, piece of jewelry, or print that imitated
his designs were referred to
as being in le style Mucha.
Between 1895 and 1904, in
addition to producing posters, Mucha was commissioned to create panneaux
(decorative panels), cal-
Figure 3:
Alphonse Mucha,
Gismonda, 1895;
Collection of Jack Rennert.
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2015