Mucha

Born in 1860 in a small Czech town, Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) was an artist on the forefront of Art Nouveau, the modernist movement that swept Paris in the 1910s, marking a return to the simplicity of natural forms, and changing the world of art and design forever. In fact, Art Nouveau was known to insiders as the ?Mucha style? for the legions of imitators who adapted the master{u2019}s celebrated tableaux. Today, his distinctive depictions of lithe young women in classical dress have become a pop cultural touchstone, inspiring album covers, comic books, and everything in between. Patrick Bade and Victoria Charles offer readers an inspiring survey of Mucha{u2019}s career, illustrated with over one hundred lustrous images, from early Parisian advertisements and posters for Sandra Bernhardt, to the famous historical murals painted just before his death, at the age of 78, in 1939 At the end of the 19th century, Alphonse Mucha created a sensation in the streets of Paris with his posters representing the French actress Sarah Bernhardt. His work announced the new artistic style Art Nouveau, and won its creator fame and artistic renown. However, Mucha's talent was never confined to lithography. Shading the world with a colourful sensuality, Mucha's art also expresses itself in the monumental decorative panels of a living room and in small, delicate China pieces.