This travelling exhibition celebrated the 150th anniversary of Mucha’s birth.
“Our objective was to present Mucha as a brilliant draftsman and a resourceful and creative personality and a great photographer, in short in a way that is not widely known to the public,” explained John Mucha. “It is well known that my granddad was a great patriot, which is why it was a matter of course that the anniversary of his birth be celebrated in several towns of the Czech Republic”.
Over one hundred works, including lithographs, pastels, drawings, graphic works and decorative designs were presented in each venue. Czech visitors were also invited to discover Mucha’s impressive photographic output, exhibited in the Czech Republic for the very first time.
The exhibition was organised according to four broad themes:
Family and Homeland
For Mucha, patriotism – love for his homeland – was an inherent spiritual force driving his life and artistic activities. This section included portraits of Mucha’s family and contributions to patriotic magazines, organisations and events. Also included were photographs by Mucha, taken while his Slav Epic project was in progress, that demonstrate ties with his family and the love which formed the foundation of his artistic achievements.
Life
This section explored Mucha’s dramatic breakthrough in Paris with his striking and innovative posters for Sarah Bernhardt. His signature style, which became known as le style Mucha, brought him international renown as one of the greatest masters of Art Nouveau. Soon his designs were produced as decorative panels and used to embellish a variety of decorative objects that were both affordable and widely accessible.
Beauty
For Mucha, ‘Beauty’ was the ‘moral harmony’ visualised in the material world, the role of the artist was to communicate to others the message of Beauty by awakening their emotions and inspiring them with the power of art. This section of the exhibition looked at the basis of Mucha’s style, principally through studies of female figures and flowers, which evolved from his belief that an effective design should be optically pleasing. To do this, he applied his own ‘golden ratio’ (2:3 or 3:2) to his compositions, incorporated harmonious colour contrasts and opposing forms, and used ornamental devices such as halos and arches.
The Apotheosis of Love
Starting with the works related to Obecní Dům (1910-1911), Mucha’s first project after his homecoming, this section featured studies for the Slav Epic canvases, as well as drawings and paintings on the themes of war, compassion, faith and universal love. The section concluded with one of Mucha’s later paintings, Light of Hope (1933), which developed from the last Slav Epic canvas, The Apotheosis of the Slavs. Produced under the growing threat of Nazism, it expresses Mucha’s anxiety and his hope for peace.