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Alphonse Mucha Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Czech, 1860-1930

Alphonse Mucha is acclaimed for his distinctly stylized and decorative Art Nouveau illustrated posters and prints — particularly those depicting beautiful French actress and famous artists’ muse Sarah Bernhardt. His work remains widely loved by everyone from bohemian students to serious collectors. 

Mucha and his contemporaries treated femininity as the antidote to the impersonal, masculine world of the industrial revolution — it was to be celebrated and embraced. He fervently believed that art is a crucial, enjoyable benefit to humankind, and it should be accessible to as many people as possible.

Mucha showed an early talent for drawing. Rejected when he applied to the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in 1878, he traveled to Vienna — two years later at the age of 19 — and found work painting theater backdrops. After a tragic fire that destroyed the theater that employed him, he returned home and began painting portraits. Count Eduard Khuen Belasi hired Mucha to paint a series of murals for his residence. 

In 1885, the Count sent Mucha to the Munich Academy of Fine Arts — paying his tuition and living expenses. Mucha moved to Paris in 1888 to continue his studies, where he shared a studio with Paul Gauguin. There, he became enamored with the nude female form and allegorical studies. He enjoyed some financial success with magazine illustration work, which led to lucrative book illustration commissions. One of Mucha’s illustrations for the book Scenes and Episodes of German History received a medal of honor at the 1894 Paris Salon of Artists.

In 1894, Mucha began a six-year contract for the acclaimed stage actress Sarah Bernhardt, creating posters for her shows and tours. His first poster was an immediate sensation and cemented his fame in the Art Nouveau poster artist community.

Mucha designed some of the most famous posters of the era — a time when these works were key to the fabric of the cosmopolitan thoroughfare in the French capital. He created advertisements for JOB cigarette papers, Ruinart champagne, Lefèvre-Utile biscuits and Moët-Chandon champagne. Although Mucha is renowned for his posters, he spent the latter half of his life on decorative panel works and Czech nationalist artworks — many of them in the collection at the Mucha Museum in Prague.

Find original Alphonse Mucha nude prints, figurative prints, wall decorations and other art on 1stDibs.

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Artist: Alphonse Mucha
Fruit by Alphonse Mucha
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in New Orleans, LA
Alphonse Mucha 1860-1939 Czech Fruit Signed "Mucha" (lower left) Pastel on paper "Art only exists to communicate a spiritual message." —Alphonse Mucha Alphonse Mucha's distincti...
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19th Century Art Nouveau Alphonse Mucha Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel

"Medieval Thoughts, Prague, " Alphonse Mucha, Czech Art Nouveau Illustration
By Alphonse Mucha
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Alphonse Mucha (Czech, 1860 - 1939) Medieval Thoughts, circa 1890 Wash, ink, and watercolor on paper 11 x 9 inches Signed lower right Provenance: Phillips New York, 19th and 20th ce...
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1890s Art Nouveau Alphonse Mucha Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor

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Alphonse Mucha figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Alphonse Mucha figurative drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Alphonse Mucha in crayon, ink, paint and more. Not every interior allows for large Alphonse Mucha figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 12 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Aleardo Terzi, Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, and Felician Myrbach. Alphonse Mucha figurative drawings and watercolors prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $36,000 and tops out at $36,500, while the average work can sell for $36,250.

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