'Maruška' is a diminutive of 'Marie' and Mucha's portraits of his wife Marie Chytilová (1882-1959) are usually given this name.

Mucha met Maruška in 1903 in Paris, following an introduction by Dr. Karel Chytil, her uncle and an eminent Czech art historian. 22 years his junior, Mucha gave her private drawing lessons and soon they fell in love.

Maruška was Mucha's ideal woman: she was well-educated and well-read, musical, a great lover of art, attractive, and from an old Czech family. They were married in 1906 in Prague.

Throughout their marriage, Maruška was Mucha’s muse and the most loyal supporter of his art.