Mucha, Alphonse

Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939) was a Czech painter and designer whose flowing lines, floral ornament and poised figures helped define Art Nouveau. Born in Ivančice, Moravia, he established his career in Paris. His celebrated poster for Sarah Bernhardt’s Gismonda brought him widespread recognition in 1895, followed by commissions for theatrical posters, decorative panels, illustrations and designs for everyday objects. Mucha’s ambitions extended beyond the elegant imagery associated with his Paris years. After returning to Bohemia in 1910, he devoted much of his later career to The Slav Epic, a cycle of twenty monumental paintings exploring Slavic history. His work joins an extraordinary gift for decorative design with a lasting interest in cultural identity, history and the expressive possibilities of the human figure.