Mucha Museum Prague shows life and works of art nouveau pioneer Alphonse Mucha

Czech artist Alphonse Mucha was a pioneer of art nouveau, an art movement inspired by nature that became especially popular at the turn of the 20th century. Mucha was a prolific creator of paintings, posters, illustrations, and works in the decorative arts. The Mucha Museum in Prague contains a wealth of information about the artist''s life and career. In a new series of reports from the Czech Republic, our reporter Stephany Yang takes us to the museum to learn more.
Stephany Yang
FTV reporter
Mucha created a large number of paintings and posters. This was his armchair.
Alfonse Maria Mucha was a Czech artist born in 1860 in the small Moravian town of Ivancice. This is his earliest work, “Crucifixion,” which he painted when he was only 8 years old.
One of Mucha’s most popular artworks is “Zodiac,” designed as a company calendar. The print shows 12 zodiac signs in a halo-like disk behind a woman''s head.
Zlatina Jerabkova
Tour guide
You can exactly see that he used lots of different moons, the sun, the stars, which were actually the symbols used by the Freemason.
Mucha''s big break came in 1894, when he created “Gismonda,” a poster he created for French actress Sarah Bernhardt. The poster elevated Mucha to stardom and revolutionized poster design.
Zlatina Jerabkova
Tour guide
He decided to use this pastel color that is kind of softer. It was considered something new and revolutionary.
Mucha is known for his paintings, advertisements, posters, decorative panels and illustrations. But he also designed jewelry, carpets, and wallpapers.
Zlatina Jerabkova
Tour guide
He was very popular in France, the United States, and nowadays because he has always drawn inspiration from the art of different cultures. He has also drawn inspiration from the Japanese art.
The Mucha Museum in Prague is the only museum in the world dedicated to the work and life of Alfonse Mucha .