Alphonse Mucha (1860 – 1939) was an influential Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period. He is best known for his distinctly stylized and decorative theatrical posters. He created illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels, and designs, which became among the best-known images of the period.
Since Mucha’s family had a very modest income, he was fortunate to have his studies in the arts funded by a local monastery. He became devoutly religious, and wrote later, “For me, the notions of painting, going to church, and music are so closely knit that often I cannot decide whether I like church for its music, or music for its place in the mystery which it accompanies.”
Mucha moved to Paris in 1888 where he studied with the Academie painter Julien with the artist Jules Lefebvre who specialized in female nudes and allegorical paintings. Mucha’s illustrations began to give him a regular income. In1894 his career took a dramatic turn when he began to design theatrical posters for French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt. When his posters appeared on the streets of Paris they caused an immediate sensation.
When he turned 50, he returned to his homeland of Bohemia region in Austria and devoted himself to painting a series of twenty monumental canvases known as The Slav Epic, depicting the history of all the Slavic peoples of the world. He worked on the epic series between 1912 and 1926. In 1928, on the 10th anniversary of the independence of Czechoslovakia, he presented the series to the Czech nation. He considered it his most important work. It is now on display in Prague.