In this week’s issue of Artist Spotlight, I will be covering the famous Czech illustrator and printmaker Alphonse Mucha, a profound member of the Art Nouveau movement who influenced some of the best Art Nouveau illustrators, including J.C. Leyendecker. The Art Nouveau movement primarily promoted the infusion of fine arts techniques into more contemporary methods of artistic expression, taking inspiration from organic forms. It was born prior to the beginning of the First World War, a time of rapid commercialization, industrialization, and development of newfound social values. Art Nouveau pieces essentially documented this cultural shift, as illustrators at the time typically published their work in popular media commissioned by newspapers, magazines, and local businesses to promote products or events. However, unlike artists such as Leyendecker, who primarily focused on graphic design for commercial products, Mucha’s pieces have a whimsical undertone. This is due in part to his heavy involvement in the promotion of theatrical performances and occasional experimentation with allegorical media.
One of my favorite pieces by Mucha is called “Evening Contemplation,” which is from his series The Times of Day. Although I feel that there are a lot of great examples of Mucha’s work that I could have used for this article, I specifically selected this one because not only is it an example of an allegorical piece, Mucha uses a unique style of printing to render it which I have not yet covered in Artist Spotlight. Lithography is a traditional printing method that uses a unique chemical process that puts emphasis on an artist’s physical drawing rather than an engraving. Artists will first prepare a limestone block by creating a flat surface and then grinding it down to a specific grit factor. Artists then draw on the limestone surface using a special lithography pencil, which will interact with specific chemicals to create grease reservoirs in the lithography stone. These reservoirs will attract the ink, storing it there until it is pressed onto a piece of poster paper using a rotary lithography press.
For a lithography print, “Evening of Contemplation” is an incredibly vibrant piece. Although it is easy to achieve intricate linework using lithography, rendering pieces with a variety of colors is typically a lot more challenging. This makes Mucha’s print that much more impressive. My favorite aspects of Mucha’s piece are the floral pattern circling the outside of the poster, the texture of the fabric in the subject’s dress, and the warmth of the chosen color palette. For the floral pattern, I couldn’t help but notice a possible allusion to the archway bordering typically applied in Renaissance art. This adds an upward-facing perspective to the piece, calling attention to the subject being “above” the viewer. As for the fabric in the female subject’s dress, I am almost always amazed at the rendering skill of Art Nouveau illustrators. Mucha was known for his experimentation with fabric representation and drapery and often took on commissions for interior design, so he would do a lot of fabric silhouette studies. The dress maintains a realistic volume, which I was unaware was possible with traditional printing. Finally, Mucha caps off this fantastic illustration with a unique set of vibrant colors that help the subject really pop in contrast to the foreground and background elements. The subject’s uncanny white dress and red hair clash perfectly with the warm orange background and the intense green of the foreground woodland elements.
