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.
Four Alphonse Mucha Lithographs The Times Of The Day
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in Dallas, TX
Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) Four lithographs on wove paper For serious collectors and museum collections. A full set of Mucha’s iconic period lithographs representing The Times Of Th...
Lithograph
Price Upon Request
"Obraz-Divka (The Girl)" - Original Alphonse Mucha Portrait Painting from 1911
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in Carmel, CA
"The Girl - A Study for the Slav Epic" is an authentic original work by the celebrated Art Nouveau icon, Alphonse Mucha. Dating back to 1911, this oil on linen is a profound piece of...
Oil, Linen
$1,775Sale Price|40% Off
H 42.92 in W 31.11 in
Bohemian French painter - Early 20th century figure painting - Nude female
Located in Varmo, IT
French Bohemian painter (early 20th century) - Female nude. 100 x 70 cm without frame, 109 x 79 cm with frame. Antique oil painting on canvas, in a gilded wooden frame (some cracks...
Canvas, Oil
$18,229
H 36 in W 32.5 in
Le Secret - Art Nouveau Figures in Landscape Oil Painting by Michel Simonidy
By Michel Simonidy
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed and dated Art Nouveau oil on board figures in landscape by Romanian painter Michel Simonidy. The piece depicts an autumnal scene with two women standing beside a fountain at n...
Oil, Board
"Pair of Cat Portraits" oil on canvas, circa 1920s
Located in SANTA FE, NM
"Pair of Cat Portraits," oil on canvas, circa 1920s Artist unknown Oil on canvas Unsigned. 6 x 7 1/4 inches each (18 3/8 x 12 frame) A pair of finely depicted cat portraits on canva...
Canvas, Oil
$735Sale Price|20% Off
H 16 in W 12.5 in
Antique Portrait of a Woman, 19th Century Female Oil Portrait dated 1883
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Antique portrait painting of a woman signed and dated on the top left 1883. This is a rich and colourful canvas beautifully created by the artist. A head and shoulders sideways com...
Oil
$1,018Sale Price|20% Off
H 19.5 in W 16.5 in
Antique Nude Female Oil Painting, Nude Backof a Woman, French Nude Portrait
By Jacques Weismann
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Antique nude oil painting from a Parisian artist, Jacques Weisman signed in the lower left and dated 1913, it sits within a heavy frame. Here, the tonal elements of the back are stu...
Oil
$947Sale Price|20% Off
H 26.5 in W 22 in
Antique Portrait Oil Painting of a Child, Framed French Boy Portrait, Choir Boy
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Antique child portrait oil painting in a gold coloured frame. A simple but stunning 19th Century portrait of a French boy. Here, the artist has given us a minimalist portrait with ...
Oil
$2,131
H 15.5 in W 20 in
19th Century Oil Painting, Elegant Lady with Parasol in Woodland, Impressionist
By Adrien SCHULZ
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Antique Oil Painting on canvas in velvet rimmed frame signed in the lower corner by French artist, Adrien Schulz (1851- 1931). Which captures the romantic elegance of the 19th centu...
Oil
$8,168
H 34.65 in W 29.14 in D 2.76 in
Oil On Canvas, Art Nouveau Portrait By Leon Tirode (1873-1956)
Located in Gavere, BE
"Oil On Canvas, Art Nouveau Portrait By Leon Tirode (1873-1956)" Old oil on canvas, Art Nouveau style, portrait "Autumn" painted and signed by Leon Tirode (1873-1956), French school...
Gold Leaf
Red - Original Sally K Figurative Artwork
By Sally K
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Gazing at Lebanese American artist Sally K's floral portrait is consuming and empowering. Inspired by strong, feminine women, she creates pop-realistic paintin...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Board
$2,604Sale Price|26% Off
H 32.68 in W 28.35 in
Emilio Magistretti (Italian painter) - late 19th century figure painting - Tiger
By Emilio Magistretti
Located in Varmo, IT
Emilio Magistretti (Milan 1851 - Milan 1936) - Girl with a Tiger. 67 x 56 cm unframed, 83 x 72 cm with frame. Old oil painting on canvas, in a contemporary carved and lacquered woo...
Oil, Canvas
$4,546Sale Price|43% Off
H 46 in W 38.5 in D 2 in
Large French Society Portrait, by repute, La Comtesse de Blacas, Château d'Ussé
Located in Cotignac, FR
Large scale French society portrait from the 1920s featuring a lady in a 'flapper' dress before a castle and it's garden by Georges Gaudy. Signed bottom left and dated, 1925. The painting is by repute of La Comtesse de Blacas, in front of her home Château d'Ussé. Ussé was the subject of a French railroad poster issued by the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans in the 1920s which may have been designed by Gaudy and this may be where the commission for this painting came about. Presented in very fine custom carved wood, gilt Florentine frame. The early 1900s were the zenith of 20th century society portraiture by the likes of Philip de László...
Canvas, Oil
$9,350
H 12.5 in W 11.5 in
"Portrait of a Saint Bernard" Carl Reichert (Austrian, 1836-1918)
By Carl Reichert
Located in SANTA FE, NM
"Portrait of a Saint Bernard" Carl Reichert (Austrian, 1836-1918) Oil on wood panel Signed lower right 6 x 5 (12 1/2 x 11 1/2 frame) inches frame A tenderly and well executed portr...
Oil, Wood Panel