Alphonse Maria Mucha was born in Ivancice on July 24, 1860. In 1877, Mucha was expelled from school because of his poor academic performance. On his way back home, he came across a Czech Baroque fresco painted by a local artist, Jan Umlauf (1825-1916), in a church. Mucha was incredibly taken by the work and then resolved to become an artist professionally.
At age 19, Mucha moves to Vienna to become an apprentice scenery painter at a theatre design company. While there, he also enrolls in evening art classes and goes to many galleries and art exhibitions. This changes in 1881, when a fire takes the lives of nearly 400 people as it destroys Vienna’s Ring Theatre. As a result, several of the theatre design company’s staff, including Mucha, loose their jobs.
In 1887, Mucha moves to Paris where his career later takes off. He spends several more years continuing his art education before finally becoming a professional illustrator.
Eight years after he moving to Paris, Alphonse Mucha signs a six year contract with Sarah Bernhardt after his Gismonda poster is featured on hoardings across the city. His contract makes him responsible for designing posters, stage sets and costumes for the leading actress of Paris.
By 1896, Mucha’s Art Nouveau style takes flight, and his first The Seasons (series) is created. This leads to his first solo exhibition held ten years after he moved to Paris. 107 works of art are displayed in the show.
Later in life, Mucha branches out into other forms of art such as jewellery, but he is most known for his “Style Mucha” works such as his posters.
Mucha died 10 days before his 79th birthday due to illness and the deterioration of his health on July 14, 1939.
References:
http://www.muchafoundation.org/timeline
http://images.search.yahoo.com/