Alphonse Mucha was born in 1860, in what was then Moravia, a region controlled by the Austrian Empire, and what is now a part of Czechia. Growing up, he admired the elaborate and luxuriant style of the Baroque period, and later emulated some of its features in the style he himself pioneered. He first painted scenery for the theatre in Vienna and then garnered some attention working in decorative arts back home, and managed to find a count as a patron, who sent him to the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. He then became known for advertisements and other commercial work. His work was so distinct that it created a genre: first called "The Mucha Style", but which is now the very prolific Art Nouveau. Later in his life, he became tired of his highly marketable works and launched himself into the eighteen-year project of creating The Slav Epic. He is once quoted as saying "Art exists only to communicate a spiritual message." Whatever that message may be, here is a taste of his work.
Printemps, Ete, Automne, Hiver (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter), 1896
Zodiac, 1896
The Arts: Dance, 1898
Posters for 'Moët and Chandon', 1899
Thistle from the Sands, Heather from Coastal Cliffs, 1902
Sixth Sokol Festival, 1912
The Slav Epic, cycle no. 2: The Celebration of Svantovít, 1912
The Slav Epic, cycle no. 7: Milíč of Kroměříž, 1916
The Slav Epic, cycle no. 9: The Meeting at Křížky, 1916
The Slav Epic, cycle no. 17: The Holy Mount Athos, 1926
The Slav Epic, cycle no. 20: The Apotheosis of the Slavs, Slavs for Humanity, 1926
