Mucha began taking photographs in the early 1880s while working as an apprentice scene painter in Vienna, and he continued this practice throughout his life.
Exhibition Alphonse Mucha: The Legacy of Art Nouveau (2020)Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
At first, he used a borrowed camera to take snapshots of his friends and street scenes, but in Paris, after purchasing his first camera that took 10x13 cm glass plates, photography became an important part of his creative process.
During the latter half of the 1890s, photography began to assume the role of a visual notebook and diary, which complemented his sketches and drawings.
Model posing at Mucha's studio in the rue du Val-de-Grâce, Paris (1899)Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
Model posing at Mucha's studio in Paris
Modern print from original glass-plate negative, c.1899
Model posing at Mucha's studio in the rue du Val-de-Grâce, Paris (1901)Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
Images of studio models form a large part of the numerous photographs taken during this period. Often Mucha had no special plans for specific projects but rather worked spontaneously with the models improvising a variety of poses.
Later, many of these images were used as parts of studies or as sources of inspiration for his designs and paintings.
Model in a Bohemian folk costume at Mucha's studio in the rue du Val-de-Grâce, Paris (1900)Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
Model in a Bohemian folk costume
At Mucha's studio in the rue du Val-de-Grâce, Paris
Modern print from original glass-plate negative, c. 1900
Nu dançando (1901)Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
"Dancing Nude"
Four photographic studies from a series of five Modern prints from original glass-plate negative, c.1901
Exhibition Alphonse Mucha: The Legacy of Art Nouveau (2020)Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
