Friday, 28 June 2024

Alphonse Mucha and Art Nouveau: 100 years After its Creation, His Work is Still a Balm for a World in Upheaval


By Will Visconti, University of Sydney

Alphonse Mucha’s body of work is full of contradictions.

He is most often identified with late 19th-century Paris, but was in fact Moravian (Czech). His vision for the purpose of art was for the betterment of humanity and creation of utopia, but his most famous artworks are advertisements. His style typifies Art Nouveau, a movement at its peak between the 1890s and 1910s, but his career spanned several decades from the late 1800s until his death in 1939.

Self-portrait with posters for Sarah Bernhardt at Mucha’s studio in rue du Val-de-Grâce, Paris, c1901 © Mucha Trust 2024.

Born in 1860 in what is now the Czech Republic, Mucha trained in Paris. He worked as an illustrator in Paris and Prague, and exhibited work in the Paris Salon before rising to fame with his poster works and branching out into other media. After several visits to the United States, he returned to his homeland in 1910 and remained there until his death in 1939.

A new exhibition of his work at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the largest of its kind seen in Australia with over 200 pieces on display, shows the full breadth of Mucha’s work and his commitment to the transformative power of art across media.

Art and ideals

The twin concerns of Mucha’s art are beauty and identity, specifically, national identity.

This may provide the biggest surprise to viewers who recognise his work, showing the extent of his productivity over so many decades and multiple media. Not only did Mucha compose his iconic posters and design jewellery, but he created murals for Czech municipal buildings and a portfolio of designs for interiors.

Alphonse Mucha, Princess Hyacinth. 1911, colour lithograph 125.5 x 83.5 cm © Mucha Trust 2024.

Significantly, he also designed postage stamps and banknotes in 1918 for the newly-formed Republic of Czechoslovakia.

His work is suffused with his utopian ideals and vision for a better world. For Mucha, art was for all. He believed in the power of art to make the world kinder and more beautiful. Such was the popularity of his posters that people removed them as soon as they were put up, to keep for themselves.

His works define the Art Nouveau (“new art”) style of the late 1800s, full of dynamic natural forms or shapes. The vines and flowers that decorate and frame Mucha’s artworks are also found in art, architecture and interior design.

L Alphonse Mucha, Zodiac. 1896, colour lithograph 65.7 x 48.2cm, The Mucha Collection © Mucha Trust 2024.

To compose these works, Mucha used photographs of models as figure studies, which fill a wall of the exhibition. These photographs include Mucha himself posing with his daughter Jaroslava, a frequent collaborator and artist in her own right.

Celebrity and brand development

After the internationally-renowned actor the “Divine” Sarah Bernhardt, commissioned Mucha for a last-minute poster design, his own celebrity increased. Mucha began work on the poster for Bernhardt’s play, Gismonda, on Boxing Day 1894, and it was ready by New Year’s Day 1895. So began a fruitful relationship between the two.

Sarah Berhhardt posters
Installation view of the Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 15 June – 22 September 2024. Photo © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Diana Panuccio

Bernhardt, herself a sculptor, was rendered in larger-than-life sized posters for many of her plays, which convey the drama and tragedy of her performances, including roles as Hamlet and Lorenzo de’ Medici. When Bernhardt saw the Gismonda poster, she declared “You have made me immortal”.

Adjacent to these images conveying the glamour of celebrity and consumerism, the exhibition includes several works that highlight Mucha’s engagement with spirituality, Freemasonry and mysticism.

Alphonse Mucha, Sarah Bernhardt: La Plume art edition poster. 1897, colour lithograph, 69 x 51 cm © Mucha Trust 2024.

A curious juxtaposition in another room shows Mucha’s involvement with advertising alongside his famous rendering of seasons or artforms as allegorical figures. Where series of richly-decorated images show beautiful young women with glistening gold and silver, the largest and most eye-catching work is an advertisement for Nestlé.

By depicting lissom women in a recognisable style, products grabbed attention without necessarily being depicted, as with JOB cigarettes or Moët & Chandon.

Alphonse Mucha, Poster for JOB cigarette papers. 1896, colour lithograph, 66.7 x 46.4 cm © Mucha Trust 2024.

The Slav epic and national pride

Since his teen years, Mucha had a sense of patriotism, expressed first through amateur dramatics and later through his artworks.

This patriotic fervour is best encapsulated in the monumental Slav Epic, 20 canvases tracing pivotal episodes in Slavic history. The work was intended to educate and inspire the Slavic people to build a peaceful future and learn from their past. It is crowned with a golden Christ-like figure to embody the new republic.

Alphonse Mucha, The Slav Epic XX: Apotheosis Slavs for Humanity. 1926 (detail) egg tempera and oil on canvas, 480 x 405 cm © Mucha Trust 2024.

Given the fragility of the Slav Epic works to travel beyond their current home in the town of Moravský Krumlov, the Art Gallery of New South Wales instead provides digital projections set to music.

It offers a chance to experience the grandeur of the works, the richness of the colours and imagery, all treated with Mucha’s eye for detail.

Mucha with the Slav Epic canvases as exhibited in the Klementinum, Prague, 1919 © Mucha Trust 2024.

A final display shows both the links to Japanese art in Mucha’s works and the broader taste for Japonisme during the late 1800s. The same influence is seen beyond this exhibition in Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters, with their use of flowing black lines or a limited palette. There are also manga, showing the legacy of Mucha’s artworks now reflected back in Japanese art and album covers. Groups like The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane reproduced or appropriated Mucha posters, drawing on their iconic status and melding it with a psychedelic sensibility.

Alphonse Mucha, The Flowers: Carnation. 1898, colour lithograph on paper,107.5 x 47 cm. © Mucha Trust 2024

This exhibition offers more than just beautiful things. It provide the viewer with a glimpse of art that uplifts, and a balm for a world in upheaval, as it did 100 years ago.

Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau is at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until September 22.The Conversation

Will Visconti, Teaching staff, Art History, University of Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

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Tuesday, 25 June 2024

An Ode to Paris: Stéphane Rolland's Haute Couture Elegy to the City of Light and Shadows

Stephane Rolland's resonant evocation of nocturnal Paris at his latest show in the French capital. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn
In the 8th arrondissement of Paris, Stéphane Rolland, presented his haute couture collection for 
Autumn/Winter 2024 on a long, atmospheric runway at the Art Deco Salle Pleyel concert hall. This season was not so much a display of sartorial ingenuity but rather a love letter to the French Capital, through the lens of post-war photography and poetry, writes Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Photographs by Elli Ioannou and Andrea Heinsohn

Glamourous figures amid the evocation
 of Paris' night mist. Photograph: Elli Ioannou
ENAMOURED with the sophistication of post-war Paris, French couturier Stéphane Rolland's latest collection was influenced by the poetic works of Jacques Prévert and the evocative photography of Brassaï. 

Rolland envisioned an alluring, black-and-white Paris, shrouded in mist and mystery, exuding a quiet yet potent sensuality: the city of Édith Piaf, Jeanne Moreau and Yves Montand. The sound of footsteps opened the show while resonant riffs of jazz piano and trumpet suggested smoke-filled nightclubs of the 1940s and 50s.

Called Paroles, Rolland's collection is an ode to the literary and photographic greats of the French capital. The aim of the show was to create a narrative that unfolded like a poetic journey through the city’s nocturnal streets, capturing its hidden beauty and intimate moments. Each piece is part of Rolland's story, from a cut-out tuxedo jumpsuit in wool crepe and black satin with a diamond belt to a tailored dress with organza inserts and an onyx-embroidered bodice, all created with the designer's impeccable craftsmanship.

Stéphane Rolland's designs draw on Brassaï's black-and-white imagery and Prévert's lyrical prose. Brassaï was the professional name of Gyula Halász a Hungarian~French photographer who became renowned in France. While Prévert's poems were collected in books including Paroles (Words) published in 1946, where he writes about life in Paris after the Second World War.

From Rolland's early days of sketching as a child to becoming one of the handful of designers who continue to uphold the unique expertise of French haute couture, Rolland’s passion for fashion has always been evident. His fascination with architecture and modern art has shaped his distinctive, sculptural style, which is evident in each collection. 

The aim of the show was to create a narrative that unfolds like a poetic journey through the city’s nocturnal streets, capturing hidden beauty and intimate moments. 

Coco Rocha wears the spectacular bridal
gown embellished with organza petals. 
Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn
The runway at the Salle Pleyel was transformed into a cinematic experience. Models appeared to glide across the stage in monochromatic, dramatic designs amid curls of fog. Rolland’s attention to detail was evident in all of the designs, from dresses adorned with jewels to the use of luxurious fabrics. 

This season, Rolland's tailoring was particularly superb with well-cut jackets juxtaposed with more ethereal silhouettes. Each piece was cleverly designed to reveal a glimpse of the waist or the back combined with a deep decolletage.  

A standout piece was a long, hooded coat in black velvet and satin with a trapeze skirt in wool crepe embroidered with crystals, sapphires and diamonds. Another was a draped white muslin sweater and a skirt in sequined tweed embroidered with crystal and decorated with ivory feathers.

For the finale, the flamboyant bridal look was worn by Coco Rocha, a commodious gown, festooned with embroidery and white organza petals. A testament to Rolland’s mastery of haute couture, the gown featured a capacious hood paired with a flowing skirt in wool gazar.

Each piece was cleverly designed to reveal a glimpse of the waist, or the back combined with a deep decolletage.

Stephane Rolland takes a bow at the
finale of his engaging Paris show. 
Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn
The collection also featured an asymmetrical dress in white gazar and black wool crepe worn with diamond brooches, a kimono in organza and satin embroidered with crystal, a jumpsuit in ivory adorned with black cubes, a cut-out tunic dress in black sequins, a jersey sweater dress with feathers and a short white tweed jacket with crystals.

Rolland’s use of contrasting fabrics and textures, such as the combination of black chiffon and white gazar, created looks that were both striking and elegant. A sequined tunic dress with white cubist embroidery and evening pajamas in organza and satin showcased the couturier's innovative approach. 

Stéphane Rolland’s celebration of Parisian heritage and artistry through his designs, captured the spirit of the post-war era, yet infused it with contemporary finesse. This collection was visually expressive but also an emotional homage to the city that continues to inspire the designer as it has other artists.

See more highlights of Stéphane Rolland's SS24 Haute Couture show in Paris below
Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn



Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Elli Ioannou




Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Elli Ioannou

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Elli Ioannou

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Elli Ioannou

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Elli Ioannou

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Elli Ioannou























Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Elli Ioannou


Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Elli Ioannou

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Andrea Heinsohn

Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2024-2025 Collection in Paris, France. Photograph: Elli Ioannou


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