Alphonse Mucha

by Ronald F. Lipp (Introduction), Sarah Mucha, Victor Arwas (Contributor)

Generally agreed to be one of the most important contributors to Art Nouveau, the Czech artist Alphonse Mucha was trained, celebrated and lived most of his life in Paris. His unforgettably iconic images of Sarah Bernhardt and others embody the spirit of the fin de siècle. But underneath his successful career as an artist and poster designer lay a passionate Slav nationalist whose most important and long neglected works are still being painstakingly restored and exhibited in the Czech republic. This book is the first comprehensive overview of his life and work and is published in association with the Mucha Museum in Prague.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography, Art History, History, Art and Photography, Art Design

159 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who wouldn't want to spend an hour or two in Mucha's world? This man was an amazing Czech artist.






Look at this little girl's face, for fuck's sake. LOOK AT IT.



Man had skillz.


Let's not ignore that women - women who were considered beautiful enough to be models - in 1902 and thereabouts, were refreshingly normal-looking, as in not-stick-thin and with some softness in the face and belly that would absolutely not be tolerated nowadays.









NSFW: http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0s...

NSFW: http://www.muchafoundation.org/media/...

There's another NSFW one I want to show you, but I can't find it on the Internet anywhere. :(


Anyway, the book is gorgeous. Five stars. I wish I owned a copy.

[Chloë · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man, I love Mucha and his art. I think this book gives a good overview if his lives and his works. It only got a little boring the beginning with that really long text. I did really enjoy this book!

[♥ℳelody · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are new to his work then yes this is a good start off. But if you are collecting his work, this doesn't really add anything new that other books don't do a better job of displaying and elaborating on. A lot of the artwork shown in this are the most popular (repetitive) massed produced prints you see everywhere that are his most recognizable works. I've only skimmed through it but the blown up cropped in pictures used as chapter intros are super grainy and poor quality, they're kind of an eyesore. Had I known this I definitely would have passed on purchasing this one online.

The highlight? Photographs of his models in his studio posing for him for his pieces. Love that.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are hundreds if not thousands of book about Mucha out there, but this has to be one of the best. It does not show us all his works, nor does it give us all his prints instead it gives us a great overview of everything that he did. I had no idea for instance about his use of pastels or that he took so many photographs. It is a wonderful book, a book any fan would love!

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a visually beautiful and historically thorough account of Alphones Mucha's life and work. The language is a bit formal and awkward in places, perhaps due in part to the author's nationality, but that did not detract from my enjoyment or the quality of the book.

[E L K Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

While his famous paintings cover many merchandise and calendars like the advertisements that brought him fame, Mucha's ability to study expressions tied to the idea of the worlds spirit and its need to lead people towards awareness of cultures, traditions as well as suffering speaks volumes in today's society the same way in which Mucha intended it to do century ago.

If only people looked at his work to see what he painted beyond the glamour. For this alone, any book exploring his body of work is worth your time because it's timeless, and you always find something new in his study and search for soul.

[natàlia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro perfecto para cualquier persona que le interese la obra de Mucha. No solo explica su biografía, sino también hechos como su amistad con Sarah Bernhardt o la relación con su propio país y su sentimiento nacionalista. Además, no se limita a mostrar y explicar sus más icónicos pósters, pues también enseña y analiza sus extravagantes joyas y sus diseños correspondientes, sus bocetos, pasteles y ceras, la maravillosa Epopeya Eslava, distintos diseños que realizó para el gobierno de su nación e incluso sus fotografías.

[Jaimie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed the bits and pieces of Mucha's artwork that I've stumbled upon over the years, but I have never had access to such a range of his work until this book. It's chalk full of gorgeous illustrated panels, paintings, and sketches that showcase the talent of one of the early modern maters. I was particularly interested in the selection of designs for furniture, flatware, and household decorative items that were included, as I often forget that Art Nouveau wasn't just confined to canvas and poster; it was in fact a complete design aesthetic that could be applied to almost anything.

[Marjan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply the most beautiful book on Alphones Mucha I ever came across. The texts are halfway readable (the useless descriptions of posters say nothing you can't see for yourself), but the way everything is arranged and printed makes this a must-have for any art enthusiast. However; a few more reproductions of Le Pater wouldn't hurt, neither would bigger reproductions of The Slav Epic (those are gigantic works, why so small then)...

[Serge Pierro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent overview on the life and works of Alphonse Mucha. Being familiar with his beautiful line work, I was a bit surprised to see how skilled he was as an illustrator, in yet a different style. Lots of great examples of his work are included - including many of his most famous pieces.

[Krisette Spangler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave a great overview of Mucha's life and career. The paintings are gorgeous, and I couldn't help wishing our currency looked like the money he designed for the Czech republic. I'd probably never spend it.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I use this more for a reference of his work than an actual book to read. It's one of the most comprehensive collections I've found.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be an excellent first book about this great artist. It is a compilation of smaller articles from several experts with a long pre-face by Sarah Mucha. It has very nice, but not excessively long coverage of all main aspects of life and art of Mucha with a section for each important direction of work. It presents the main creations of Mucha of every kind - posters, panels, paintings. So, it gives you the essence both in text and images, but not overburden you with details(you could still get it in other books if you become a fan).
Most importantly, it seems to be the only book that provides a good representation (although a bit small in size) or the Slav Epic - which is really hard to find in books and in real live (it seems to travel all the time). One issue that caused me to get down to 4 stars is the color of most images is a bit too light - as washed out. I compared it to other books and images online and I think, it is should be darker. But I borrowed the book in the library, so it could be just getting old.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a good overview of the works of Alphonse Mucha. Not only his well known graphical work, but also the paintings, drawings, photographs and design work.

The writing in the book is unfortunately a bit pretentious and not particularly helpful. But I find this to be the case with most art books.

[Dymphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit boek is een mooi overzicht van het werk van Alphonse Mucha. Passend bij de tentoonstelling in 2022 in het Kunstmuseum Den Haag, geeft het boek informatie over de verschillende media die Mucha gebruikte. Het boek sluit af met een beknopte biografie.

Mooi koffietafelboek. Klein minpuntje zijn wel de uitvergrotingen van slechte kwaliteit aan het begin van elk hoofdstuk.

[Megangoldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a certain electricity in the air whenever you're near. Perhaps we can rewrite the script tonight, with a touch of playful fire that ignites a desire that lingers long after the last spark fades, leaving us wanting to explore more tomorrow.

[Hex · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0
This album was very informative and very beautiful! I loved all the small tidbits the author provided about each Mucha's work and how it played well with displayed art. I'm so delighted.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very solid telling of Mucha's life and art, but I wish it had gone deeper into his illustrations and the symbolism wihin, especially on the Slavic Epos

[Nadia Zeemeeuw · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely beautifully printed guide to creative life of Alphonse Mucha. Well written introduction pieces, a pure joy to flick through.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's be honest: I got this for the pictures! Which makes it both an easy read and a beautiful book to add to my bookshelf.

[Khanh · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautifully printed and succinct

[Evie Brabant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great coverage on Mucha, I had been searching for a book that went deep into his artistic process and widespread portfolio and this book had everything!

[Alicia Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often take this book out as a source of inspiration. I'm a huge fan of art nouveau, this book has been a fantastic source for me to refer to during many art projects. There's a wealth of detailed information inside, as well as gorgeous illustrations!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful collection of Mucha’s fine work. He knew how to glamorize the mostly female subjects in his paintings. The reproductions are sharp, well sized and the coloring is bold. It is the next best thing to visiting the Mucha museum in Prague

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful Artist and designer!

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very neat to see a collection of all Mucha's works (including preparatory sketches and photographs), but I was hoping to get more analysis of his technique, less general history.

[Lloyd Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely graphics and interesting script.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art and an easy to read biography/history of Mucha himself.

[Ef Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Úchvatnost!

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cómo con otro libros de arte que he leído estos últimos días, mi opinión es que ya sólo por las fotos de las obras merece la pena. Es tener en casa un pequeño museo.