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Alfons Mucha Exhibition
Hachioji Yume Art Museum
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Artists
Alfons Mucha
Born in 1860 in Ivancice, a village in Moravia (now in the Czech Republic) with a strong sense of national identity, Mucha received support from a patron and went to Paris to study at the age of 27. After the patronage ended, he made a meager living as an illustrator, but a turning point came at 34. He became the darling of the times when he created the advertising poster for "Gismonda," a play featuring Sarah Bernhardt, a well-known actress in Paris at the time. Mucha's posters were so well received that people took them as soon as they were put up, and he even won Bernhardt's heart, leading to a six-year contract to produce posters for her.
After his work with Bernhardt made him famous, Mucha was inundated with commissions to design not only posters, but also decorative panels, calendars, product packaging, and other items. In particular, the production of lithographs for decorative panels made it possible to mass-produce them and sell them at low prices, thereby bringing art, which had previously been the privilege of the wealthy, to the general public. Above all, Mucha's designs, which made use of elegant female figures and the organic curves of flowers and grasses, established a genre of design known as the "Mucha Style," and he eventually rose to become the leading artist (poster painter and designer) of the Art Nouveau movement.
In 1900, Mucha was commissioned to decorate the pavilion of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 5th Paris Exposition and to create posters for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Bosnia-Herzegovina Pavilion served as a springboard for the creation of his "Slav Epic" in his later years. Mucha then turned his back on commercial work, devoting the latter half of his life to his native Czech Republic and the Slavic people.
After moving to the United States in 1906, Mucha returned to the Czech Republic in 1910 when he had enough money to produce "Slav Epic." In addition, Mucha designed the walls of the Prague Civic Center, and when the Czechoslovak Republic gained independence in 1918, he designed stamps, banknotes, and everything else related to the new nation without compensation. This attitude overlaps with Mucha's efforts to make art accessible to the general public during his time in Paris and shows that Mucha remained committed to his belief in "art for the people" throughout his life.
This exhibition focuses on Mucha's dedication to his homeland, the Czech Republic, to which he devoted the latter half of his life, through his glamorous posters and decorative panels from his Paris period, the "Collection of Decorative Materials," which was produced as a guide for art students, the design of stamps and banknotes for his homeland's development, and the panels of his "Slav Epic".
After his work with Bernhardt made him famous, Mucha was inundated with commissions to design not only posters, but also decorative panels, calendars, product packaging, and other items. In particular, the production of lithographs for decorative panels made it possible to mass-produce them and sell them at low prices, thereby bringing art, which had previously been the privilege of the wealthy, to the general public. Above all, Mucha's designs, which made use of elegant female figures and the organic curves of flowers and grasses, established a genre of design known as the "Mucha Style," and he eventually rose to become the leading artist (poster painter and designer) of the Art Nouveau movement.
In 1900, Mucha was commissioned to decorate the pavilion of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 5th Paris Exposition and to create posters for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Bosnia-Herzegovina Pavilion served as a springboard for the creation of his "Slav Epic" in his later years. Mucha then turned his back on commercial work, devoting the latter half of his life to his native Czech Republic and the Slavic people.
After moving to the United States in 1906, Mucha returned to the Czech Republic in 1910 when he had enough money to produce "Slav Epic." In addition, Mucha designed the walls of the Prague Civic Center, and when the Czechoslovak Republic gained independence in 1918, he designed stamps, banknotes, and everything else related to the new nation without compensation. This attitude overlaps with Mucha's efforts to make art accessible to the general public during his time in Paris and shows that Mucha remained committed to his belief in "art for the people" throughout his life.
This exhibition focuses on Mucha's dedication to his homeland, the Czech Republic, to which he devoted the latter half of his life, through his glamorous posters and decorative panels from his Paris period, the "Collection of Decorative Materials," which was produced as a guide for art students, the design of stamps and banknotes for his homeland's development, and the panels of his "Slav Epic".
Schedule | Apr 7 (Fri) 2023-Jun 4 (Sun) 2023 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Adults ¥800; University and High School Students, Seniors 65 & Over ¥400; Junior High School Students and Under free. | ||||
| Venue | Hachioji Yume Art Museum | ||||
| Location | 2F View Tower Hachiouji, 8-1 Youkamachi, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0071 | ||||
| Access | 15 minute walk from the North exit of Hachioji Station on the JR Chuo line, 15 minute walk from the West exit of Keio-hachioji Station on the Keio line. | ||||
| Phone | 0426-21-6777 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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