Au Quartier Latin (1897) by Alphonse MuchaDavison Art Center, Wesleyan University
Fin de siècle Paris was a city overflowing with artists, dramatists, and muses. The industrial revolution had brought technology and wealth to the old capital. And under the warm orange glow of the new electric street lights were the enticing advertisements of Alphonse Mucha.
Incantation (Salammbo) (1897) by Alphonse MuchaDavison Art Center, Wesleyan University
Mucha was born in 1860, in Moravia, now modern-day Czechia. He showed artistic talent from an early age. By 19, he had travelled to Vienna and found work as a scenery painter. A number of setbacks sent him travelling around Europe, until in 1888 he ended up moving to Paris.
Salon des Cent: Exhibition of the Work of A. Mucha (1897) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
Following his studies at the Académie Julièn and the Académie Colarossi, Mucha worked as an illustrator for the weekly magazine La Vie populaire and Le Petit Français Illustré. He put his money towards musical instruments and a camera, which he used to help compose his drawings.
Gismonda (1894) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
In 1894, Mucha's career took a dramatic turn when he was hired to produce a new poster for the play Gismonda. As Mucha later recalled, it was December 26 and he happened to be at the poster publisher's office, the usual artists weren't available, and so he was given the job.
Mucha's poster was life-size, over 2m tall, and featured the leading actress Sarah Bernhardt dressed as a Byzantine noblewoman. The play's title appears to be set in a mosaic, and Bernhardt's name rings her head in a halo, while her tumbling dress draws viewers eyes down.
The combination of detailed draughtsmanship and negative space makes the poster playful, yet easy to read. Its subtle pastel colours were markedly different to the bright colours used for most advertisement posters.
The poster appeared on the streets of Paris on the January 1, 1985 and caused an sensation across the city. Over the next year, 4000 more copies were ordered. Mucha achieved fame almost overnight, and his work was in high demand.
Lorenzaccio (1896) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
Mucha's florid, exuberant designs epitomised the era: they incorporate modern materials and photographic techniques, and they imitate fashionable wrought iron and painted ceramics. It's fair to say that the popularity of Mucha's posters helped defined art nouveau as a style.
Sarah Bernhardt (1897) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
Mucha's posters found such acclaim that they were sometimes ripped from the walls by zealous collectors. Seeing an opportunity, his publisher began to produce special editions without the advertising text, and smaller postcard sized versions - as seen here.
La Trappistine (1897) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
Paris was the centre of a burgeoning consumer society. Soon, Mucha's sinuous style was applied to all sorts of products, such as chocolate, champagne, and bicycles. He made this in 1897 for 'La Trappistine', an alcoholic liqueur made by Parisian distillers, Legouey & Delbergue.
It's clear that he drew on (or simply reused) the layout of his famous Gismonda poster, with its pale palette and whiplash lines. The woman's head is encircled by a decorative motif, and her long hair and draping dress lead the viewers eyes down to the emerald-like bottle.
Lance Parfum “Rodo” (1896) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
This draft design, hand painted in gouache and gold, was made for Lance Parfum's new scent, Rodo. Mucha was adept at creating seductive scenes, such as a young woman squirting perfume into a handkerchief, that appealed to men and women alike.
Monaco – Monte Carlo (1897) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro
While this poster was made for Chemins de Fer P.L.M., which ran trains from Paris to the new luxury resort of Monte-Carlo. Rather than depicting the sights of the city, Mucha alludes to the kinds of fashionable people likely to be there and pleasure to be encountered.
Poster "JOB" (1898) by Alfons Mucha and Imprimerie F. Champenois, ParisBröhan-Museum
Mucha's years in Paris brought him fame and fortune, but these years were only the first half of his career. At the Exposition Universelle of 1900, he marked another change in his career, turning away from advertising and towards a epic cycle to celebrate his Slavic heritage.
