Tuesday Art ATTACK- Alphonse Mucha “Autumn”

Alphonse Mucha was born in Ivančice, Moravia (currently the Czech Republic) in 1860. He was a very talented artist who was the originator of the Art Nouveau movement. Art Nouveau was at first called Style Mucha. His 1895 poster for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou was a sensation in Paris and is credited for starting the Art Nouveau movement. Mucha became very famous for his commercial work. In 1900 he was appointed to the Order of the Knight by Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungry. His great success allowed him to frequently travel to America. On his trips he would teach and look to attract patrons to support is fine art career. He worked from 1910 to 1928 on 20 massive paintings known as the Slav Epic that showed the history of Czechs and other Slavic peoples. He considered his art a true expression of the Czech culture and its people. Mucha felt that art only existed to communicate a spiritual message. He died in 1938 of pneumonia. This work was part of a series of four prints showing his representation of the seasons and is titled Autumn. This print was created in 1896.