Alphonse Mucha

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Alphonse Mucha

• 1860 - 1939

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1860

• Born at Ivancice in South Moravia, near the city
  of Brno in the modern Czech Republic.
• Early years a choirboy and amateur musician

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Early Years

• 1878 Applies to the Prague Academy of Fine Arts.
  His application is turned down with the
  recommendation "Find yourself another profession
  where you'll be more useful".
• 1879 Goes to Vienna to work as a scene painter
  for the firm of Kautsky-Brioschi-Burghardt.

• 1871 Gains a choral scholarship to the Church of
  St Peter in Brno, the capital of Moravia.
• 1875 Returns to Ivancice. His father finds him
  work as a court clerk.

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1881 1883

• Leaves Vienna after being laid off when his
  employer's best customer, the Ringtheater, burns
  down in a fire.
• Goes to Mikulov where he earns a living by
  painting portraits.

• Meets Count Khuen Belasi who commissions him to
  decorate his castle at Emmahof.
• Moves to Castle Gandegg, Tyrol, where Count
  Khuen's brother, an amateur artist, becomes
  Mucha's patron.

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Academics

• 1885 Begins studies at the Munich Academy of Art,
  sponsored by Count Khuen's brother.
• 1887 Moves to Paris to study at the Academie
  Julian, still under the Count's sponsorship.

• 1888 Leaves the Academie Julian and becomes a
  student at the Academie Colarossi.
• 1889 The Count's sponsorship ends. Leaves the
  Academie Colarossi and seeks work as an
  illustrator.

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Paris

• 1890 Moves to a studio above Madame
  Charlotte's cremerie at rue de la Grande
  Chaumiere. Begins to illustrate a theatre
  magazine, Le Costume au theatre, in which his
  first drawing of Sarah Bernhardt as Cleopatra
  appears.
• 1891 Meets Paul Gauguin at Madame Charlotte's
  before his journey to Tahiti.
• Begins work for the publisher Armand Colin, a
  main source of income.

• 1892 Commissioned by Colin to illustrate Scenes
  et Episodes de l'Histoire d'Allemagne by Charles
  Seignobos
• 1893 Gaugin returns from Tahiti and shares
  Mucha's studio in rue de la Grande Chaumi
• 1894 Designs his first poster for Sarah
  Bernhardt, Gismonda, a play by Victorien Sardou

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1895

• The poster Gismonda appears in Paris.
• Mucha signs a 5 year contract with Sarah
  Bernhardt to produce stage, costume designs, and
  posters.
• The firm of Champenois begins to publish Mucha's
  posters
• Meets August Strindberg at Madame Charlotte's.
• Participates in the Lumiere brothers'
  cinematographic experiments, including a study of
  plant movements.

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1896

• Moves to a new studio at rue du Val-de-Grâce.
  Champenois publishes Mucha's first decorative
  panneaux, The Seasons

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1897 Exhibitions

• One man exhibition at the Bodiniere Gallery,
  Paris, showing 107 works.
• One man exhibition at the Salon des Cent, showing
  448 works.
• A special issue of La Plume devoted to it.
• One man exhibition at the Topic Gallery in Prague

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Recognition

• 1915 Mucha's son Jiri is born
• 1918 The independent state of Czechoslovakia is
  created. Mucha designs postage stamps and
  banknotes
• 1919 The first eleven canvases of the Slav Epic
  are exhibited at the Klementinum in Prague and
  then sent to be exhibited in America
• 1921 Successful exhibition of Mucha's work at the
  Brooklyn Museum, New York

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• 1928 The complete cycle of the Slav Epic is
  officially presented to the Czech people and the
  City of Prague at the city's Trade Fair Palace.
• 1934 Promoted to Officier of the Légion d'Honneur
  by the French Government.
• 1936 A joint exhibition of works by Mucha and
  Kupka is held at the Musée du Jeu de Paume in
  Paris. Mucha shows 139 works.

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Late Years

• 1938 Begins to work on the triptych The Age of
  Reason, The Age of Wisdom and The Age of Love.
• 1939 Mucha is among the first to be arrested by
  the Gestapo when the Germans invade
  Czechoslovakia. On 14th July, Mucha dies in
  Prague. He is buried at Vysehrad cemetery.
  Despite the Nazis banning the public from his
  funeral, over 100,000 Czechs attend.