Good day everyone~ Today I am posting some beautiful sketches belonging to the incredibly beloved and masterful painter and illustrator - Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939). I recently found these in the Louvre archives and was immediately captured. A lot of people may recognize Mucha’s stuff from his finished paintings and contributions to the Art Nouveau movement, however, I’m equally in love with these lesser known gems. I think most artists have sketchbooks full of these kinds of things. Little hand studies...cartoons...scribbled notes and thumbnails. It's beautifully human to see such things from an artist long passed. - Sunny ☀️
1. "Groupes de personnages en conversation" - Groups of characters in conversation. 2. "Etude pour le Grand Prix de l'Exposition Universelle de 1900 à Paris" - Study for the Grand Prix of the Universal Exhibition of 1900 in Paris. 3. "Femme tenant une lyre et femme allongée sur le ventre" - Woman holding a lyre and woman lying on her stomach. 4. "Jeune femme couronnée se levant à moitié de son trône" - Young crowned woman half rising from her throne. 5. "Jeune fille regardant une autre jeune fille enlaçant un jeune homme" - Young girl watching another young girl hugging a young man. 6. "Figure géante de jeune fille étendue que la lune personnifiée, embrasse" - Giant figure of a reclining young girl embraced by the moon personified. 7. "Figure s'élevant au-dessus d'un personnage, baisant les lèvres du soleil" - Figure rising above a character, kissing the sun's lips. 8. "Feuille d'études" - study sheet.
I'm guessing these were made around the 1890’s but it's hard to pinpoint exactly. Titles were run through google translate so there's probably some inaccuracy. All images sourced from https://collections.louvre.fr/en/