#gismonda

[tomoleary]

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) Sarah Bernhardt as Gismonda (1894) and Lorenzaccio (1896)

[postcardaday]

Poster for Gismonda starring Sarah Bernhardt, 1894, by Alphonse Mucha.

[thedailydevoe]

❀ Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939) ❀

Left: Poster for Gismonda Right: Poster for Slovanská epopeje (Slav Epic)

Alphonse Mucha was born in Ivančice, Moravia, in what is now the Czech Republic. He went to high school in Brünn (now Brno), funded by an early singing career. Though he was a gifted singer, art was his true passion, and he went on to the Munich Academy of Fine arts. He dedicated much of his work to sharing the culture of Czech people. Many of the motifs in his works, such as his use of flower crowns and halos, are derived from Czech culture. Throughout his life, Mucha liked to diversify the style and media of artwork he produced. In addition to his lithographic prints, he also designed jewelry, carpets, and theatrical decor.

His advertisement for the play Gismonda is what launched him into stardom. The play itself starred Sarah Bernhardt, a very well known French actress, which allowed the poster to become so widely regarded. The unique style of the poster created the term “Mucha Style,” which eventually evolved into the broader art movement Art Nouveau (New Art).

Towards the end of his career, he began to branch away from the Art Nouveau style which he pioneered, as he wanted his legacy to be connected to fine art rather than the advertisements in which the style was found in. Thirty years after his initial Gismonda poster, he completed Slovanská epopeje, or The Slav Epic, which recounted the history and culture of Slavic and Czech people. The twenty large paintings which make up the collection were a bold departure from his renowned style, though it still incorporated the pastel colour palettes found in his earlier works.

By the 1930s, the Mucha Style was largely considered outdated. In 1936 Mucha began a triptych similar in scale to that of The Slav Epic. However, the triptych remained unfinished, as Mucha fell ill in 1938, and then was arrested by the Gestapo in 1939. The arrest sent his health in further decline. He passed away in July of 1939 just before his seventy-ninth birthday.

His son, Jiří Mucha (1915–1991), dedicated much of his life to bringing attention to his father’s work. The Art Nouveaustyle and Alphonse Mucha’s artwork in turn has had periods of revival, such as its comeback in 1960s psychedelic art. In 1998, the Mucha Museum was opened in Prague, which is dedicated to exhibiting his work.

Sources: “Alphonse Maria Mucha.” Alfonsmucha “Alphonse Mucha Timeline.” Mucha Foundation

[nonhapiupareti]

Ophelia, sculpture by Sarah Bernhardt, 1880 / Victorien Sardou's Gismonda (starring Sarah Bernhardt), poster by Alphonse Mucha, 1894 / Sarah Bernhardt (aged 20), photo by Nadar, 1864 (partial reproductions)

[maggothoward]

Hate them sm I can’t stop drawing them🥀

[monkeyssalad-blog]

LEYENDECKER, J. C. "The Rescue of Gismonda" from Egerton R. Williams, Jr., novel Ridolfo, The Coming of the Dawn, 1906. by Halloween HJB

[harinezumiko]

Halloween event art for Goatlings, featuring my Art Nouveau, Gismonda!

[unholyxmary]

Alfons Mucha posing in front of his own poster for the play “Gismonda” in his Paris studio, 1901