Mucha lives through a turbulent time, not only in the post-impressionist era of art when the rules were gradually thrown out the proverbial window, but politically as well. Czechoslovakia was not a great place to find oneself as Europe spiraled towards war in the '30s, and that was a pivotal factor at the end of his life.
But the optimism and warmth in the Mucha pieces is the key to their success. No wonder product manufacturers and retailers wanted to him to push their products.
Mucha built up his style through a background of theatrical scenery and
decorative painting, and a close association with music. He did many
posters for performers, and performances. And even as his style and name
became widely known in Art Nouveau circles, he was doing posters for
exhibitions for which his recognizable style was no doubt a key draw.His work on product packaging and advertisement posters is very recognizably his. Here for a hot chocolate product.
Poster work was very important in the emergence of the Art Nouveau style. Perhaps the most recognizable of the Nouveau artists was Henri Toulouse-Lautrec whose poster work is still widely hung on walls around the world.The necessity for posters to be clearly seen from a distance and to quickly create an atmosphere and positive regard for the associated product or destination means that the compositions were bold, with strong contrasts and simplified subjects.
Here are Much's works for cigarettes, beer and bicycle companies.
The heavy contours Mucha uses around his figures make them 'pop' a bit more among their surroundings. I would speculate that this style of art is fundamental too in the emergence of the comics of the period after the crest of the Nouveau period - into the 20's and beyond.
The printing technology of the time was likely a contributing factor, in part, due to the limited colour palette achieveable. The result is undeniably attractive. As in many artistic endeavours, boundaries and restrictions often spawn more creative results.
His use of overlapping to create visual interest is a strong, common element, as is again his copious use of drapery and swirly lines and ribbons and tresses of hair.
The subject matter is invariably elegant and feminine. If Degas' ballerina work adorns the bedrooms of the youngest girls, Mucha's elegant and more daring women likely took the same place for their older sisters. Well, maybe not so much the cigarettes and beer posters.As for many artists with a strong commercial element to their careers, there is an always burning desire to spend more time on purely artistic endeavours.
Mucha spent much effort in later years on a 20 piece history of the Slavic peoples, called the Slav Epic, delivered as a set of large canvasses. This piece below is the "The Abolition of Serfdom in Russia" painted in 1914.
A large piece, and the depiction is very crisp right to the borders. Even the mist-and-snow enshrouded domes are meticulous. Here's a detail of the group of subjects from the painting's lower left. Note the drapery, the curling shock of golden wheat, the dramatic poses of figures. Not to mention the bright red scarf - all very much Mucha.
Even the palette is his usual range of earth tones, and gold and red against the pristine white of the snow.
Mucha paints and sketches his daughter many times. How could he resist, his subjects are always women. No doubt she serves as stand in for the figures in many of his pieces. At right here is a painting of his wife Marushka. Perhaps more of a sketch, though the face is nicely finished. Perhaps a bit more emotion in the picture, given the subject matter. It's unusual for his pieces to have an unfinished figure like that, particularly when it could have been glorious folds of cloth. But the same muted colours are there.In the many books and calendars and cards that Mucha portrayed, surely to pay the bills, he rendered personifications of abstract concepts or inanimate objects as women often. This interesting idea of using the personality and setting of his subjects to represent some non-human thing is an appealing one.
He painted the four seasons as women several times. As well as gem-stones, moments in history, countries, figures of religion and myth.
Here is one of his depictions of winter. I like this one because it reminds me immediately of comics to emerge shortly after this period. In particular I think the works of Hergé, like his beloved Tintin are evocative of Mucha's style. Hard to fill the scene with his favourite golds and reds when he is depicting winter, but he still manages with the hints of weak sunlight illuminating her dress, and the splash of red among the birds.
And here too is his Autumn. Well, no challenge to illuminate the work in gold when you're doing a scene in the fall. And the red locks of swirling hair come easily too then.
