“The mission of the artist is to encourage people to love beauty and harmony.”

—Alphonse Mucha

 

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) was a Czech-born graphic artist and painter who rose to fame in Paris in the late 1890s with his theatre posters for the ‘super-star’ actress Sarah Bernhardt and his product advertisements, as well as his elegant designs for decorative panels. His work inspired the then emerging Art Nouveau style.

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This exhibition looks at the development of Mucha’s distinctive graphic style and ideas behind it, in particular, that of beauty - the core principle underlying his artistic theories and philosophy.

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The display is divided into three thematic sections, the first two parts highlighting his contribution to Art Nouveau in Paris, followed by a section to explore how Mucha’s art developed after his return to the Czech lands.