Customer Reviews

Mucha: The Triumph of Art Nouveau

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I was first introduced to Alphonse Mucha in a rather unorthodox way: comic books. Years ago, when I was still an avid colllector of comics, I particularly enjoyed those illustrated by Joe Quesada. As I studied his drawings in such books as Ash and Ninjak, two elements of his style stood out. His female figures were very curvy and voluptuous, quite different from the angular nature that predominated his work. Also he had an intriguing way of indicating panel borders with byzantine stained-glass motifs and curvilinear meanderings of his pencil. I have since learned that both of these elements were directly influenced by Mucha.

Although Mucha's most popular art does not vary much in content (most of his work consisted of vertically oriented affiches with a single female figure as the subject), he remains one of my most favorite artists. This book presents some of what I feel to be his best work. Don't look to Mucha for variation in theme or deep symbolic meaning. Instead, enjoy his work for it's strengths: beautiful women and intricate ornamentation.

Alphonse Maria Mucha,one of the great masters of art.It is sad to see that so many art academics dismiss his work as "unimportant",but I guess a lot of failed artists have a problem with pure talent.This book is one of the best around that is still in print,highly recommended and definately worth the price,especially at Amazon...

Mucha's style very much defined the Art Noveau movement. In fact, he sometimes claimed it as his own. A grand claim, perhaps, but this extract from his ouvre puts some weight behind it.

It includes some of his jewelry, bronzes, and stage design, but those are minor parts of this collection. His well-know graphic works dominate by far - product wrappers, post cards, and theatrical posters. It says a fair bit for his popularity that, shortly after his posters were put up to announce some new production, they were torn down again by collectors.

A whole chapter describes his work work Sarah Bernhardt, with whom he seemed to have a happy professional symbiosis. Sarah had the "problem" of a slender figure in an age when roundness defined a woman's beauty. Mucha's style was about long, flowing curves of drapery, vegetation, and figure - a natural match to Sarah. His publicity posters certainly advanced her career, but it seems that her inspiration advanced his, too.

The text is informative, but tends towards a kind of history that I find dry. The pictorial presentation is effective, though. It includes many of his graphic works, and often the sketches that led up to them. The pictures also show his tendency to repeat an image with little or no variation - a plagiarism of self that must have been handy for meeting tight commercial deadlines. It gives an interesting insight into Mucha's work habits and how he would develop an image.

There may be better books on Mucha out there, but this one is certainly worth having.

//wiredweird

Nice book, comprehensive overview of his work. I got another version which had more color illustrations and a richer look. Decent book for the price.

art nouveau triumphed in paris thanks to(ironically enough)a slavic draughtsman named mucha...this book touched on the importance of all of these facts....i have never actually read this book,but the cover says it all.....hooray for mucha....gunsnroses.