On the Mucha trail in Prague: From ceilings to stained glass, discovering the artist's legacy

Art Nouveau icon Alfons Mucha was born 160 years ago on July 24, 1860, in Ivančice, South Moravia.

Worldwide, he is best known for his advertising posters for French actress Sarah Bernhardt as well as for products like JOB rolling papers, Moët & Chandon champagne, and even rail travel.

His work also had a more serious side, such as his 20-painting Slav Epic (Slovanská epopej), which took almost 20 years to complete. The large paintings, made between 1910 and ’28, depict the mythology and history of the Slavic peoples.

Mucha himself saw the cycle as his ultimate achievement. “I will be able to do something really good, not just for the art critic but for our Slav souls,” he once said.

Mucha wasn’t just a follower of the latest fashions. “It is interesting that Art Nouveau actually had several names in France before it was called Art Nouveau, and one of its French names was ‘Style Mucha.’ That shows you what a pioneer of this avant-garde he truly was —so much so that we are justified in wondering if Art Nouveau actually comes home to Prague with Mucha rather than seeing it as a borrowed avant-garde from France,” Rhoads said.

Insight Cities has a tour of Art Nouveau buildings in the center of Prague, including a brief look at Obecní dům where Mucha was among the many artists who contributed to the décor.

Obecní dům is closely associated with the establishment of Czechoslovakia’s First Republic in 1918, and much of Mucha’s work when he was back in what is now the Czech Republic had patriotic overtones. Mucha contributed a stained glass window to St Vitus’ Cathedral at Prague Castle.

He also designed some of the first banknotes and stamps for the new Czechoslovakia and designed a state coat of arms that was in use until 1961 on government forms.

But Mucha did first find fame in France, and with commercial art, before returning to his homeland to pursue more high-minded ventures.

While Mucha’s style was new, it did have some sources. “If you look carefully at Mucha’s posters of Bernhardt (indeed his depictions of all women), they are clearly derived from traditional Japanese woodcuts of geishas. Like the geisha, the Mucha woman is all about posture and costume and curvilinear, excessive graphic design, usually with nature motifs since the Art Nouveau style is linked to organic, floral forms. Like many other European artists of the turn-of-century, Mucha was deeply influenced by Asian art,” Rhoads added.

When the Slav Epic was shown in Japan in 2017, it drew record crowds. “I thought that Mucha was probably overjoyed from his spot in the afterlife. It was fascinating to consider that many of those art fans in Tokyo can instantly recognize the Japanese art influence on Mucha’s imagery in a way lost on his Czech countrymen and European fans,” Rhoads said.

Mucha died July 14, 1939, and is buried in Slavín, a tomb at the Vyšehrad Cemetery in Prague reserved for notable Czech personalities. His art was condemned by the Nazis, who occupied Bohemia during World War II, for its promotion of Slavic ideals.

“I think it is quite touching that Mucha’s patriotism was so well-known that even though he was 79 years old when the Nazis invaded Prague in 1939, he was one of the first people to be interrogated by the Gestapo. And it probably killed him. He died of pneumonia a few months after that interrogation. One legacy Mucha has is his devotion to the Czech nation, his ability to popularize Czech nationalist aspirations from his position as a celebrity artist with international reach. At the end he saw his art as a service to his nationalist ideals,” Rhoads said.

People interested in seeing more of Mucha’s art can visit the Mucha Museum, run by the Mucha Foundation, at Panská 7 in Prague 1.

There is a metal plaque with Mucha’s bust in Malá Strana at Thunovská 25 (Palác pánů z Hradce), where he lived from 1911 to ’24. The building itself, on a dead-end part of the street, is in bad disrepair and not open to the public.

There is an easy way to get a piece of Mucha’s art. His 10 Kčs, 50 Kčs, 100 Kčs, and 500 Kčs banknotes and various denomination stamps from the First Republic era can often be found in shops for collectors. They are a bit pricey compared to other notes and stamps from the same era but are technically original artworks.

The artist’s granddaughter, Jarmila Mucha Plocková, has a shop at Maiselova 5 in Prague 1, with items inspired by her grandfather’s style.