Welcome to Faults' Artists Highlight, where I write about artists or works whom I took influence from, the ones which I admire, or artists whose works which I found fascinating. In the series, I will be writing about my experience with the highlighted artists, attempting to identify aspects of their works that resonated with me.
The Arts: Painting (1898)
My exposure to the work of Mucha goes a pretty long way, albeit an indirect one: I had came across countless works that were in no doubt indebted to his work for many, many years... yet I had not known of the art movement that affected the sensibilities of the artists, much less the man associated with the movement!
It's pretty obvious from some of the drawings that I had posted from time to time - as well as the few Faults' Artists Highlights posted before - that I have an affinity for what could simply be referred to as the anime/manga artstyle: a clean style with emphasis on the outlines to imply a sort of 'flat' feel. What might be less obvious is that there is been another art style that I am really interested in, one that share a similar feel, even if the aesthetic does appear totally different: the style that I would refer to as the rock / heavy metal poster art.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, San Francisco 2012 (2012), by David D’Andrea
The rather muted but effect colour palette, strong design element, and usually meticulously detailed rendering of the characters - which could either be any combination of floral, fauna, or idealized human figures - was really alluring to me. Having grown up to heavy metal music, it is perhaps not so surprising that I would share similar fascination with such an art style...!
But I do not really have that much ambition to attempt to emulate such style, because 1) my silly younger self thought they were too 'fine art' and not fit with a 'punk' and 'raw' style (???), and more accurately, 2) I know my meager art skill meant that I was not up for the task, even if I wanted to...
Still, the said poster art style was always looming at the back of my head, and when I finally felt like it's time that I actually explore this art style, I was left scratching my head: just what exactly was this art style called?
Baroness - Red Album cover (2007), by John Dyer Baizley
Such a question similarly haunt one particular poster (one who post, not the one on the wall-), and it was from this forum thread that I was aware of the art style known as Art Nouveau, and one key figure associated with the movement - Alphonse Mucha.
The discovery was a pretty monumental one for me, that I even remembered the original post that lead me into going further in time to really sift through and digest the work of Mucha - and in the process learning not only of his role in a short lived yet hugely influential art movement, but also of the background of his artistic journey - the roots to his artistic vision, which he above all prioritize over chasing of trends or fads, despite being closely associated with a then burgeoning art movement.
“As a child, I was continuously preoccupied with observation, even though I might seem to be gazing into a void.”
Cruxifixion (c. 1868)
Choirboys at Petrov Church, Brno (1905)
Despite his evident talent, as a young man he had failed to secure an education at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts (where he was advised to find 'a different career' by the Academy). By fate's intervention, a newspaper advertisement a year later led young Mucha to embark his journey as apprentice scenery painters for a theatre-set company in Vienna at the age of 19.
Design for the cover of the magazine 'Fantaz' (1882)
Saints Cyril and Methodius (1886)
Although the opportunity widened his experience by allowing him to explore the arts and high culture of the city in the form of churches, museums, art galleries, concert halls, and theatres, it prove to be a shortlived one, as a major fire in 1881 at one of the major theatre that employed him had left him out of job. Rather than returning to Moravia, Mucha decided to try his luck and head out to the town of Mikulov, where his reputation as a portrait painter had earned the attention of Count Eduard Khuen-Belasi, a local landlord. After a series of commission on his residence, the Count - along with his younger brother, Count Egon - was so impressed by Mucha's talent that it was agreed that they would finance for his art training in Munich, and later, Paris.
“I prefer to be someone who makes pictures for people, rather than who creates art for art’s sake.”
Page's Costume: study for an illustration for 'Le Costume au Théâtre' (1890)
Illustration for Memoires d'un Elephant Blanc by Judith Gauthier (1894)
Mucha arrived in the city of Paris in 1887, where he continue to enjoy the Count's patronage until an abrupt termination in 1889 - a point in his life where he recall as a period of surviving on a diet of lentils and beans as he continue to eke out his living as an illustrator for various books and magazines.
Although he would eventually prove himself reliable and skilled artist, by 1894 there was little in his portfolio up to that point that suggests that he would stand out among the sea of inspiring artists in the city. The hands of Fate, however, was yet again about to visit Mucha.
“I was happy to be involved in an art for the people and not for private drawing rooms. It was inexpensive, accessible to the general public, and it found a home among poor families as well as in more affluent circles.”
Sarah Bernhardt as Mélissinde (1897)
Gismonda (1894)
The result of the poster release is that Mucha practically became an overnight success - receiving adoration both from critics and the general public alike - and Sarah Bernhardt was so pleased that she offered Mucha to produce more work for her theatre production, which sees him not only serving as a poster illustrator, but also designing of stage sets, costumes, jewelry, as well as general artistic advisor. During the period of 1895 to 1900, Mucha designed six further posters for Bernhardt production: La Dame aux Camelias (1896), Lorenzaccio (1896), La Samaritaine (1897), Medee (1898), La Tosca (1899), and Hamlet (1899).
Lorenzaccio (1896) and Medee (1898)
Zodiac (1896); Job (1896); The Seasons (1896); The Flowers (1898); Box for Lefèvre-Utile biscuits: Gaufrettes Vanille (c.1900); Cycles Perfecta (1902)
Due to his instantly recognizable style - dubbed as 'le style Mucha' - Mucha is viewed as a leading exponent of the Art Nouveau movement, a growing decorative style that flourished by the end of the 20th Century. Apparently Mucha was indifferent to the art movement and the work of contemporary artists that falls under this movement, remarking "What is it, new art (art nouveau)? ... Art can never be new."
Ilsee, Princess de Tripoli (1897); Fouquet boutique (Originally constructed in 1901);Documents decoratifs (Plate 59) (1902)
Despite his attitude to the art movement associated with him, several of key works that he had produced continue to cement this style, such as his illustration for the book Ilsee, Princess de Tripoli (1897), his design for the Fouquet boutique (1901), and Documents decoratifs (1902). The Documents decoratifs, in particular, was to be a guidebook of sort for Art Nouveau: the book was concocted as a guide for designers and artists who are interested in turning the forms in nature into functional design, drawing from his analytical study of motifs in nature and the human forms.
The period also saw the publication of Le Pater (1899), an illustrated book of his interpretation of the Lord's Prayer. The book show Mucha's inherent Masonic belief, demonstrated in the inclusion of symbols associated with Freemason alongside other mystic symbols, and he had regarded it as his greatest achievement at that point.
Le Pater: cover illustration; illustration for 'Lead us not into temptation' (1899)
"The expression of beauty is by emotion. The person who can communicate his emotions to the souls of others is the artist.”
Reverie (1898)
It is worth at this point to pause and consider 'le style Mucha', which was very well received amongst the populace, and is perhaps the style that most would associated with him well into the present day. At the heart of his works lies the 'Mucha Woman' - described in various works with adjectives such as 'wholesome', 'alluring', 'seductive', 'comforting', 'inspirational' and so on. Her design is realistic, yet otherworldly, often framed by flowing curves commonly found in her long flowing hair that spills all around her alongside floral motifs. Added with various decorative style - quite commonly with a composition that gives the impression of halo surrounding her - the Mucha Woman acts as a messenger between the beauty of the idealized otherworld and the present form in nature and the human body. She stands in stark contrast to the more sinister woman that populates the work of contemporary such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Redon, Beardsley, Klimt, Denis, and Gauguin.
The decorative work of Mucha is developed from variety of decorative motif, ranging from Japanese, Rococo, Gothic, Celtic, Greek and Islamic - but at the heart of it is a natural evolution from his Moravian and Slavic roots, which commonly manifested in the form of floral and other botanical motifs inspired by Moravian folk arts and crafts. In a statement by Sarah Bernhardt, Mucha was "a Chezch from Moravia not only by birth and origin, but also by feeling, by conviction and by patriotism".
Byzantine Heads (pair) (1897)
If this was all that Mucha had produced, then he would undoubtedly be remembered, as one publication would later advertise him, as 'the world's greatest decorative artist'. But Mucha had greater ambition and aspiration, one that goes beyond simply creating a body of work that continues to be revered, emulated and copied to this day.
Girl Weeping (c. 1899-1900)
At the same time where he was at the height of fame in Paris, Mucha was wrestling with a feeling of guilt over his feeling of inadequacy in reaching his patriotic aspiration of serving his homeland with his art. This is most telling in a letter wrote to his friend around the turn of the century:
"It was midnight, and there I was all alone in my studio in the rue du Val-de-Grace among my pictures, posters and panels. I became very excited. I saw my work adorning the salons of the highest society ... I saw the books full of legendary scenes, floral garlands and drawings glorifying the beauty and tenderness of women. This was what my time, my precious time, was being spent on, when my nation was left to quench its thirst on ditch-water. And in my soul I saw myself sinfully misappropriating what belonged to my people."
Dead Couple - Abandoned (c. 1899 - 1900)
It was during this time period that Mucha was also producing a large number of completely different art style - one through the medium of pastel, charcoal, and chalk. Known collectively as the pastels, these works remain unseen during his lifetime, receiving only relatively recent attention, and appears to mark either a moment of crisis in his personal life, or the product of during his developing spiritual rumination. Some of the titles such as Visions, Phantoms, Abyss, or Dead Couple - Abandoned, suggests Mucha was contemplating on the darker nature of mankind, perhaps upon his developing his own spiritual vision inspired by Masonic philosophy. It has been suggested that these works may represent his awareness of the dualistic nature of mankind, reflected along the lines: "Beauty is accompanied by ugliness as light by shadow; harmony in life can be preserved only when faith in human goodness is accompanied by awareness of ever-present evil."
Bosnia & Herzegovina Pavilion (1900). Illustration featured in 'Le Figaro Illustre' (1 March 1900)
In 1899 Mucha accepted a commission from the Austro-Hungrian government for the decoration of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Pavillion at the upcoming Paris Exposition. The commission allows Mucha to pursue his vision of a united Slavic nation, presenting his idealized vision of the civilization of Bosnia and Herzegovina that oversee a multi-religious nation with Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Islam co-existing in harmony. In order to prepare for the commission, Mucha undertook travel to the Balkans to gather impressions and to sketch, leading to an 18 month period of work.
Austria at the World Exhibition: Paris, 1900; interior view of Bosnia & Herzegovina Pavilion at the Paris Exhibition 1900, with Mucha's wall painting (1900)
Although he had to make some compromise in the depiction of his vision - the original theme depicting the suffering of the Slavs people was requested to be changed into a more celebratory one - the commission was became the seed of an idea for a much grand project, one that is to become his main focus for the rest of his artistic life. In one of his writing: "As I drew the epic moments in the lives of the Bosnians, I felt in my heart the joys and sorrows of my own nation and of all the other Slavic peoples. Before I had completed these Southern Slav murals, I had made up my mind about my future big work which was to become The Slav Epic, and I saw it as a great and glorious light shining into the souls of all people with its clear ideals and burning warnings."
“The aim of art is to celebrate beauty.”
Billboard from The New York Daily News, advertising the sale of Mucha's lithograph 'Friendhip' (1904)
In order to pursue such a grand project, Mucha realized that he had to distance himself from the temptation in the city of Paris, and seek his fortune elsewhere. Perhaps inspired by Sarah Bernhardt own's successful tour there, Mucha set his sight on the shores of America.
Although initially allured by the promise of fortune by undertaking society portrait painter, Mucha found out upon his arrival that it would be hard to pursue such a plan, seeing that his fame was largely confined to his posters and decorative works: upon his arrival, newspapers were heralding him as 'the Greatest Decorative Artist in the World', and 'Mucha, Prince of Poster Artists.'
Madonna of the Lilies (1905); Tragedy - study for a mural for the German theatre New York (1908); portrait of Maruska (1908)
Although Mucha had undertaken several projects during his American stay, he had essentially declined commissions that were deemed as commercial. His regular source of income was to come from teaching, and he was proven to be a popular teacher, with his surviving lectures noted published posthumously in 1975 as Alphonse Mucha: Lectures on Art. It was also during this period that he married a Czech woman, Marie (Maruska) Chytilova, in 1906, where they were subsequently gifted with two offsprings, Jaroslava (born 1909) and Jiri (born 1915).
Portrait of Josephine Crane Bradley as Slavia (1908)
Perhaps one of his well known work during his America period is Slavia, which was a commission by Charles Crane for the occasion of the wedding of his daughter, Josephine Crane Bradley. Subsequent meeting between Mucha and Crane leads to the exchanging of the idea of what was to become The Slav Epic, and in 1909 Crane agreed to sponsor the project. This delighted Mucha, with him writing to his wife that he "will be able to do something really good, not for the art critic but for the improvement of our Slav souls."
“Art is the expression of innermost feelings … a spiritual need.”
The Slav Epic - Cycle No.1: The Slavs in Their Original Homeland (1912); Cycle No.15: The Printing of the Bible of Kralice in Ivančice (1914); Cycle No.20: The Apotheosis of the Slavs, Slavs for Humanity (1926)
6th Sokol Festival (1912); Lottery of the Union of Southwestern Moravia (1912); Woman in the Wilderness (1923); banknotes of Czechoslovakia (500 crown; 50 Crown; 10 Crown) (1929)
During the period of the work on The Slav Epic, Mucha declined all commercial works, but still undertook commission that he deemed were close to his heart, with most related to the Czech or Slav culture. With the establishment of the independent state of Czechoslovakia in 1918, Mucha helped to design the first Czechoslovak stamps and bank notes, as well as various other state items. This was in his view a way to serve his new nation, and he was all too eager to undertook the work while refusing any payment.
Mucha with the Slav Epic canvases exhibited in the the Klementinum, Prague (1919); Mucha working on the canvas 'The Coronation of the Serbian Tsar Štěpán Dušan as East Roman Emperor' (The Slav Epic cycle No.6, 1924) (1924); The Slav Epic Exhibition, Brno, 1930 (1928 - 1930)
During Mucha's lifetime, The Slav Epic was displayed twice in the city of Prague: once in 1919, and another in 1928. Mucha and Crane presented The Slav Epic as a gift to the city, with the condition that they were provided permanent exhibition. In 1928, Mucha gave a speech addressing the new state: "I am convinced that the development of every nation can only be successful if it grows organically and uninterruptedly from its own roots, and the knowledge of its past is indispensable for the preservation of that continuity."
Unfortunately, the murals was to become a point of controversy for Mucha, where it was either deemed by critics that his 'nationalistic' vision was outdated after the nation's independence, or that his 'historical' painting was anachronistic, as well as some resentment of Mucha's foreign (American) patronage. In addition to this, after the exhibition between 1929 and 1933 in Prague, Brno and Plzen, the canvas to the Epic was rolled up and place in storage, never to see the light of the day until about 30 years later. Much of the negative perception to the Epic persisted after the second World War, during the Communist regime and the Cold War era until the Velvet Revolution of 1989.
Study for 'The Three Ages' triptych: The Age of Reason, The Age of Wisdom, The Age of Love (1936 - 1938)
In the morning of 15 March 1939, German troops marched through Prague. Mucha was shortly afterward arrested by the Gestapo, on account of being a prominent Czech patriot and Freemason. Although he was released after several days of questioning, he suffered both in spirits and health, and has subsequently succumb to pneumonia, leading to his death on 14 July 1939.
Following his death, Mucha's works remain largely hidden both in his own homeland and abroad, where it seemed as if he was all but forgotten, despite his fame as a decorative artists during the early turn of the century. During the Nazi occupation his work was prohibited in the public eye - and were subsequently hidden to prevent seizure and destruction - but upon the end of the war, his work was now condemned as bourgeois decadence under the Communist Czech.
After almost 20 years of being forgotten and ignored, the work of Mucha was to undergo two revival phase: one in the 1960s - where the West was rediscovering the Art Nouveau - and a second revival in 1992 with the establishment of the Mucha Foundation, and later the creation of the Mucha Museum in 1998. While the 1960s largely focus on Mucha's decorative art - leading to a focus on the style, rather than the substance - it is with the second revival that greater attention and appreciation is given to his larger bodies of work, which includes the monumental The Slav Epic.
The world was now ready to comprehend the vision and message of Mucha.
“Art and its form should serve as a language to the object or to the forms to be decorated.”
Mucha Museum in Prague
The 1960s revival of Mucha's work saw an immediate adoption among the psychedelic poster scene, influencing artists such as the musical act Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, and the work Bob Masse. Various other artists working in the medium of posters and music illustrations/design continue to adopt, emulate, and in some cases straight up stealing elements of Mucha's decorative art - with no sign of slowing down.
Soft Machine Turns On (1967) and UFO Coming (1967), by Hapshash and the Coloured Coat
Byrds (1968) and Tori Amos (1996), by Bob Masse
Soilent Green - Sewn Mouth Secrets (1998)
Mucha was noted to be an influence to Paul Harvey, a Stuckist painter:
Madonna (2002), and The Stuckists Punk Victorian (2004), by Paul Harvey
as well as several western comic artists, where the Mucha influence is seen in not only the design of the cover, but some of the panels design as well:
Ghost, by Adam Hughes
Voodoo #3 (1997), by Adam Hughes
Strangers In Paradise Vol 2 #52 (2002), by Terry Moore
Promethea #23 (2002), by J.H. Williams III and Jeromy Cox
Wolverine Origins #5 (2006), by Joe Quesada
Arzach (1975), by Moebius
Daredevil Vol 2 #5" (2000), by Joe Quesada
But perhaps the most significant example of cross-border influence of Mucha's art would be the unmistakable influence in Japanese manga artists, which is very interesting when one considers that Mucha was perhaps taking some influence from the Japanese Ukiyo-e art style during his formative years in Paris, with a strong nature motif and a 'flat' style that place emphasis on line work. It can thus be said that for Japan, things had come full circle:
Covers to the manga series Video Girl (1989 - 1992), by Masakazu Katsura
RG Veda, by Clamp
Aa! Megami-sama, by Kousuke Fujishima
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, by Naoko Takeuchi
Hakoniwa no Soleil (2017), by Shiki Kawabata
Monshou wo Tsugu Monotachi e (2019), by Kamui Fujiwara, Jun Eshima and Yuji Horii
As for myself, it was pretty obvious that there was a point where I had consciously attempted to emulate the Mucha style into my own work - maybe not in copying his composition and decorative leements, or paying homage to some of his well known pieces... but more the concept of applying some sort of decorative elements in my composition, even if they were nowhere as intricate and dense as Mucha's or the huge bodies of works influenced by his decorative style:
November 2017
December 2017
June 2018
December 2019
While it is painfully obvious how derivative and amateur most of those attempts were, the period of experiment with the style had lead me to take on one of Mucha's advise on an artist developing their work - to consider my own background and experience, how I can bring in such an element in my art in earnest...It is still something that I'm developing (my infatuation with the Touhou Project series makes incorporating such elements not a really straightforward affair, given the cultural context...)
November 2019
November 2019
*Today would mark the 160th birthday of Mucha.
I do wonder how he would feel, seeing the recent growing appreciation and emulation of his style... While he might take some issues with some of the arts being mere superficial imitation, I would also like to imagine that would also be happy to find how some has taken his ideal of the universality of art and beauty, how one should strive to use beauty in art as a message of the positive force of mankind, and how one's artist cultural roots and background should naturally be used to develop their own style.
I suppose, looking at his large body of work - and the ever growing body of work that owes their due to him - the truth of trying to pursue a vision similar to his is this: that I mus\t steadfastly continue to work on my craft - knowing that it is closely tied to an effective way to communicate my own vision and ideal - always looking inward and asking, 'what is it that I wish to convey through my art - and how can I do so?'
“The purpose of my work was never to destroy but always to create, to construct bridges, because we must live in the hope that humankind will draw [closer] together and that the better we understand each other the easier this will become.”
Videos related to Mucha:
Art Nouveau - Overview - Goodbye-Art Academy
Mucha: In Quest of Beauty - Contemporary influence
Mucha - Remembered by his Son Jiri Mucha -1975
mucha documentary
Books/written materials related to Mucha for further reading:
Alphonse Marie Mucha: Posters, Panels … and Comic Books? by Brandon W. Bollom and Shawn M. McKinney (Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Toronto, Canada, August 2004).
L'influence de l'art occidental dans les mangas by Didizuka (Posted on January 2013)
Alphonse Mucha - Contemporary Influence by Heritage in Motion (Posted on 2017).
The Mucha Style: An Art Nouveau,Art of Ukiyo-e, and Shōjo Manga by intojapanwaraku.com (Posted on 13 October 2017).
COMICS ART: The Influence of Alphonse Mucha's Art Nouveau Style on Comic Book Artists by Mack Johnson (Posted on 18 October 2019).
Module 5 – Art Nouveau by Orna Kretchmer [Posted on 30 October 2012].
The Mucha Foundation webpage
The fascinating cross-cultural influence between Alphonse Mucha and Japanese art by Slav Epic & Alponse Mucha (Posted on 13 February 2019).
Alphonse Mucha's surprising influence on Japanese manga, anime and “light novels” by Nevin Thompson (Posted on 30 August 2019).
Western /occidental art influence in manga (Blog archive: Jun 2013 – March 2017)
The Sublime Art of Alphonse Mucha by yonghow (Posted on 26 July 2009).
*This post is unfortunately delayed by a few days (from the schedule post of 24 July) but I thought it'd be off to mention that fact in the writing... so here we are!
Alphonse Marie Mucha: Posters, Panels … and Comic Books? by Brandon W. Bollom and Shawn M. McKinney (Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Toronto, Canada, August 2004).
L'influence de l'art occidental dans les mangas by Didizuka (Posted on January 2013)
Alphonse Mucha - Contemporary Influence by Heritage in Motion (Posted on 2017).
The Mucha Style: An Art Nouveau,Art of Ukiyo-e, and Shōjo Manga by intojapanwaraku.com (Posted on 13 October 2017).
COMICS ART: The Influence of Alphonse Mucha's Art Nouveau Style on Comic Book Artists by Mack Johnson (Posted on 18 October 2019).
Module 5 – Art Nouveau by Orna Kretchmer [Posted on 30 October 2012].
The Mucha Foundation webpage
The fascinating cross-cultural influence between Alphonse Mucha and Japanese art by Slav Epic & Alponse Mucha (Posted on 13 February 2019).
Alphonse Mucha's surprising influence on Japanese manga, anime and “light novels” by Nevin Thompson (Posted on 30 August 2019).
Western /occidental art influence in manga (Blog archive: Jun 2013 – March 2017)
The Sublime Art of Alphonse Mucha by yonghow (Posted on 26 July 2009).
*This post is unfortunately delayed by a few days (from the schedule post of 24 July) but I thought it'd be off to mention that fact in the writing... so here we are!
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