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.
Flirt (Biscuits Lefevre-Utile) Lithograph Poster
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Alphonse Mucha was a painter and decorative artist best known for the sensual Art Nouveau paintings, posters, and advertisements that came to define Art Nouveau in fin de siècle Pari...
Lithograph
$45,000
Hamlet
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in Fort Washington, PA
Poster of Sarah Bernhart Playing Hamlet. Paris. Mint condition. Linen-backed. Sarah Bernhardt's groundbreaking portrayal of Hamlet, performed in French, is masterfully captured in Alphonse Mucha's poster. Mucha emphasizes the play's themes of vengeance and mortality, depicting the ghost of Hamlet's murdered father haunting the ramparts of Elsinore in the background, while the tragic drowned Ophelia, adorned with flowers, rests in a coffin-like panel at Hamlet’s feet. This powerful image marks Mucha's final poster commission that depicts the celebrated French actress. The vintage poster is linen-backed and is in excellent condition. Bernhardt famously played Hamlet in 1899, becoming the first woman to embody the role on stage and later in a film adaptation. Her bold interpretation challenged conventional gender roles and pushed the boundaries of performance, establishing her as a pioneer in both theater and early cinema...
Paper
$5,200
H 16.25 in W 9.5 in D 7.5 in
Dramatic Amphora Ceramic with Art Nouveau Maiden in Lily Bouquet c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Incredibly dramatic Amphora ceramic featuring a maiden resting on a trio of lilies, her golden gown cascading into a gathered earthen base. Stamped Amphora...
Ceramic
$29,685
H 11.03 in W 14.18 in D 1.19 in
Vitraux pour Jérusalem - Illustrated Book by M. Chagall, 1962
By Marc Chagall
Located in Roma, IT
"Vitraux pour Jerusalem" is one of the most important books illustrated by Marc Chagall and considered as one of his editorial masterpieces. Th...
Paper, Lithograph
$1,500
H 42 in W 69 in D 0.5 in
Tracey Emin - Kiss Me Towel/Wall Hanging Lt. Ed. hand numbered Official COA New!
By Tracey Emin
Located in New York, NY
Tracey Emin Kiss Me Kiss Me Towel, 2014 with Official plate signed COA Brand new: unframed and comes folded (framed images for inspiration only) Limited Edition silkscreen on oversiz...
Cotton, Paper, Mixed Media, Screen
“Red Amaryllis”
Located in Southampton, NY
This design is a contemporary tile adapted from a finely detailed four-piece panel attributed to Leon Victor Solon in the art nouveau style while he was working at Mintons. The origi...
Ceramic
$70,000
H 20 in W 16 in D 15 in
Tiffany Studios Twelve light Lily table lamp, ca. 1910
By Louis Comfort Tiffany
Located in Miami, FL
Louis C. Tiffany Twelve-light Lily table lamp, ca. 1910 Patinated and acid-etched bronze and hand-blown favrile glass 20 x 16 x 16 in Provenance: Private Collection, California. Li...
Bronze
$350
H 11.75 in W 15 in D 2 in
Rare Judaica Chevron Bezalel Zeev Raban Chromolithograph (made in Palestine)
By Zeev Raban
Located in Surfside, FL
Jerusalem's Bezalel School The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, was founded in 1906 by Boris Schatz. In 1903, Schatz met Theodore Herzl and became an ardent Zionist. At the Zionis...
Lithograph
$5,000
H 9.75 in Dm 4 in
Grapevine Vase by Clement Massier, Art Nouveau c. 1900
By Clement Massier
Located in Chicago, IL
Ceramic vase in a blue and green metallic lustre glaze by master of iridescence Clement Massier, with clusters of grapes and leaves in deep purple. Signed MCM in the base, and number...
Ceramic
$1,200
H 22.75 in W 18.25 in
Lt Ed Hand SIGNED Book: Mario Testino Private View Bi-Lingual (Chinese-English)
By Mario Testino
Located in New York, NY
Mario Testino Private View Bi-Lingual (Chinese-English), hand signed and stamp numbered, 2012 Limited Collector's Edition Hardback Monograph with Lenticular Cover portrait of Lady Ga...
Plastic, Paper, Acrylic Polymer, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset
$425
H 15.5 in W 12.5 in
Original Keith Haring Pop Shop bag (Haring 1980s Pop Shop)
By Keith Haring
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Keith Haring Pop Shop: Rare larger sized, vintage original Keith Haring 1980s Pop Shop bag designed by Haring for use at his famed New York store. A classic Keith Haring Pop Shop col...
Paper, Offset
Tiffany Studios "Vine Border" Table Lamp
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Miami, FL
Tiffany Studios "Vine Border" Table Lamp, circa 1910 leaded glass, patinated bronze, shade impressed "Tiffany Studios, New York, 1488" base impressed "Tiffany Studios, New York, 533"...
Bronze
Tiffany Studios Vine Border Desk Lamp
By Tiffany Studios
Located in Miami, FL
Tiffany Studios "Vine Border" Desk Lamp, circa 1905 with a "Chinese" base, leaded glass, patinated bronze shade impressed "Tiffany Studios, New York, 1420" base impressed "Tiffany St...
Bronze
$6,400
H 20.75 in W 7.5 in
"Untitled Vase" Blown Glass, Pink & Blue, Speckled, Sparkling, Signed by Artist
By Charles Schneider
Located in Detroit, MI
This speckled and sparkling glass vase is an exemplary piece of the Art Nouveau period of France and was created by legendary glass-smith Charles Schneider. The pink and blue speckle...
Glass