Alphonse Mucha

Submitted by LATITUDE on Tue, 04/29/2008 at 5:55pm.

Art Nouveau (from French for “new art”), movement in Western art and design, which reached its peak during the 1890s. Hallmarks of the art nouveau style are flat, decorative patterns; intertwined organic forms such as stems or flowers; an emphasis on handcrafting as opposed to machine manufacturing; the use of new materials; and the rejection of earlier styles. In general, sinuous, curving lines also characterize art nouveau, although right-angled forms are also typical, especially as the style was practiced in Scotland and in Austria.

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), One of the leading artists of the art nouveau period, he created poster designs characterized by sinuous “whiplash” lines, flowers on thin, twining stems, women with long, flowing hair, and elegantly attenuated lettering. As regular poster designer for the French actor Sarah Bernhardt, Mucha created theater bills for her plays in the 1890s, as well as producing advertisements for commercial products, such as his famous poster for Job cigarettes, and exhibitions. He also designed window displays and exotic interiors. After 1913 Mucha turned to painting, devoting himself chiefly to large historical canvases. Best known among his paintings is the series The Slav Epic, painted during the 1910s and 1920s.Here are some of his works.

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