Alphonse Mucha: The Spirit of Art Nouveau
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Decorative Arts & Design
Alphonse Mucha: The Spirit of Art Nouveau Details
From Library Journal Alphonse Mucha (1890-1939) was one of the most important decorative artists in Paris at the turn of the century. His sensual female portraits with their elaborate borders?le style Mucha?embody the essence of Art Nouveau. The Mucha family and the Mucha Foundation have put together a touring exhibition of Mucha's work, and this is the companion volume. Though numerous works on Mucha have appeared in the past few decades, none have been as exhaustive as this illustrated group of essays by noted European experts. The full-scale treatment covers paintings, decorative panels, pastels, drawings, photographs, jewelry, and advertisements as well as numerous book and magazine illustrations. The essays elucidate Mucha's political activities in Czechoslovakia, which spawned the enormous murals "The Slav Epic"; his association with the actress Sarah Bernhardt; and the impact of American patronage on his later work. This lavish homage may prove to be the most important study of an amazing and prolific artist. Highly recommended.?Joseph C. Hewgley, Nashville P.L., AntiochCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more About the Author Victor Arwas is director of Editions Graphiques. Jana A. Brabcova is former chief curator of prints and drawings at the National Gallery of Prague. Jean-Marie Bruson is conservator at the Musee Carnavalet. Anna Dvorak is librarian at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Jack Rennert is president of Posters Please, Inc. Read more
Reviews
The most elaborate book on Mucha in terms of republishing photos of more of his work than any other book I have seen. This is simply the thickest, best book I know of that features more pictures of his art than any other book. Absolutely the most complete and I bought them all in order to find the best ones. Any architectural work, jewelry, or sculpture of note is in this book in addition to his graphic work and later painting about the Slavic people. There may be other works here and there that cover more jewelry or other areas, but this absolutely everything I know of his graphic work in one place, and the reproductions good quality, what you would expect from a book of this price. No problems with the binding or the printing that I've every noticed. I can't remember if I read the essay, as its been awhile since I first bought it. But if I had to have just one book on Mucha for the reproductions of his work with the greatest breadth and depth, this is the book I would own. Not taking into account the various essays in this book or in other books, this book made many of my other Mucha books superfluous.
