Alphonse Mucha is acclaimed for his distinctly stylized and decorative Art Nouveau illustrated posters and prints — particularly those depicting beautiful French actress and famous artists’ muse Sarah Bernhardt. His work remains widely loved by everyone from bohemian students to serious collectors.
Mucha and his contemporaries treated femininity as the antidote to the impersonal, masculine world of the industrial revolution — it was to be celebrated and embraced. He fervently believed that art is a crucial, enjoyable benefit to humankind, and it should be accessible to as many people as possible.
Mucha showed an early talent for drawing. Rejected when he applied to the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague in 1878, he traveled to Vienna — two years later at the age of 19 — and found work painting theater backdrops. After a tragic fire that destroyed the theater that employed him, he returned home and began painting portraits. Count Eduard Khuen Belasi hired Mucha to paint a series of murals for his residence.
In 1885, the Count sent Mucha to the Munich Academy of Fine Arts — paying his tuition and living expenses. Mucha moved to Paris in 1888 to continue his studies, where he shared a studio with Paul Gauguin. There, he became enamored with the nude female form and allegorical studies. He enjoyed some financial success with magazine illustration work, which led to lucrative book illustration commissions. One of Mucha’s illustrations for the book Scenes and Episodes of German History received a medal of honor at the 1894 Paris Salon of Artists.
In 1894, Mucha began a six-year contract for the acclaimed stage actress Sarah Bernhardt, creating posters for her shows and tours. His first poster was an immediate sensation and cemented his fame in the Art Nouveau poster artist community.
Mucha designed some of the most famous posters of the era — a time when these works were key to the fabric of the cosmopolitan thoroughfare in the French capital. He created advertisements for JOB cigarette papers, Ruinart champagne, Lefèvre-Utile biscuits and Moët-Chandon champagne. Although Mucha is renowned for his posters, he spent the latter half of his life on decorative panel works and Czech nationalist artworks — many of them in the collection at the Mucha Museum in Prague.
Find original Alphonse Mucha nude prints, figurative prints, wall decorations and other art on 1stDibs.
Alphonse Mucha "La Dame aux Camelias" Lithograph
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in New York, NY
In the iconic 1896 revival of La Dame aux Camélias, Sarah Bernhardt portrayed the dying courtesan Marguerite Gautier, clad in a flowing white dressing gown. She wraps a bed sheet aro...
Paper
$720
H 39.5 in W 15.5 in
La Dame aux Camelias - Sarah Bernhardt (after) Alphonse Mucha, 1969
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in New York, NY
These beautiful and colorful lithographic posters were hand reproduced by the Mourlot Studio's Master Printer Henri Deschamps in 1969. They are not to be mistaken with later cheap digital and giclée reproductions. Ed. 1,500 In December of 1894, Mucha visited a print shop contracted to create a new advertising poster for a play featuring Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress in Paris at the time. Mucha volunteered to produce a lithographic poster within two weeks, and on January 1, 1895, the advertisement for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou was posted in the city, where it attracted much attention. Bernhardt was so satisfied with the success of this first poster that she signed a six-year contract with the artist. Written by Alexandre Dumas (son) when he was 23 years old, and first published in 1848, "La Dame aux Camélias...
Lithograph
$23,340
H 39.38 in W 16.54 in D 0.04 in
Original Antique Poster Times Of The Day Eclat Du Jour Brightness Of Day Mucha
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in London, GB
Original antique poster - Eclat Du Jour / Brightness of Day - by the notable Czech illustrator, graphic artist and painter Alphonse Mucha (Alfons Maria Mucha; 1860-1939) from his ser...
Paper
$16,475
H 43.31 in W 16.54 in D 0.04 in
Original Antique Poster Times Of The Day Reverie Du Soir Evening Contemplation
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in London, GB
Original antique poster - Reverie du Soir / Evening Reverie (or Evening Contemplation) - by the notable Czech illustrator, graphic artist and painter Alphonse Mucha (Alfons Maria Muc...
Paper
$23,000
H 90.5 in W 30.25 in D 4 in
Alphonse Mucha Sarah Bernhardt Gismonda Lithograph 1895
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in Dallas, TX
Alphonse Mucha (Czech, 1860-1939) Sarah Bernhardt "Gismonda", 1895 Original Lithograph IMPRIMERIES LEMERCIER, PARIS Paris, France color lithograph signed "Mucha" within the plate (lo...
Archival Paper
Art Nouveau Alphonse Mucha Original JOB Poster, 1898
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in North Bergen, NJ
Alphonse Mucha 1898 JOB poster. Excellent condition with beautiful frame under plexiglass ready to hang. Poster for 'Job' cigarette paper (1898) 'JOB' is a ...
Paper
Alphonse Mucha "Reverie" Lithograph
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in New York, NY
Titled "Reverie" (or "Dream"), this lithograph by Alphonse Mucha is one of his most noted and most desirable printed designs. The original use of the design was as an in-house poster...
Paper
$27,092
H 26.38 in W 11.82 in
1900 original poster La Topaze by Alphonse Mucha, part of Les Pierres Précieuses
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in PARIS, FR
The 1900 original poster "La Topaze" by Alphonse Mucha, part of the renowned "Les Pierres Précieuses" series, is a quintessential example of the Art Nouveau movement. This work, prin...
Paper, Lithograph
$50,306
H 25.2 in W 16.54 in D 0.04 in
Mucha, Salon des Cent, Original Art Nouveau Belle Epoque Vintage Poster, 1896
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in SAINT-OUEN-SUR-SEINE, FR
Original Art Nouveau Vintage Poster dating from 1896 by Alphonse Mucha. Poster for the 20th edition of the Salon des Cent in March-April 1...
Paper
$414Sale Price|20% Off
H 28.75 in W 20.87 in D 0.83 in
Art Nouveau Poster "La Fille aux Fleurs de Printemps", Framed, Limited Edition
By Alphonse Mucha
Located in Darmstadt, DE
This limited-edition Art Nouveau poster, titled “La Fille aux Fleurs de Printemps”, is a modern homage to the elegance and floral romanticism of the fin-de-siècle period. Inspired b...
Pine, Paper
Jules Cheret 1891 Art Nouveau Poster Le Courrier Français
By Jules Chéret
Located in Dallas, TX
Jules Chéret Le Courrier Français, 1891 Lithograph in colors on wove paper laid on linen Dimensions: 48 x 33.5 inches (121.9 x 85.1 cm) Signed in the stone lower left: Chéret Pub...
Paper
Leo Laporte Blairsy Art Nouveau Bronze Table Lamp
By Leo Laporte-Blairsy
Located in Dallas, TX
French Art Nouveau Bronze Sculpture by Leo Laporte-Blairsy Signed: “LEO LAPORTE BLAIRSY” Foundry Mark: “Susse Fres, Edt” . With Susse stamp Leo Laporte-Blairsy (1865-1923) was a Fr...
Bronze
Jules Cheret Original Charcoal and Graphite Drawing
By Jules Chéret
Located in Dallas, TX
Original charcoal drawing by Jules Chéret (1836–1932), portraying a cabaret dancer mid-movement, wearing a voluminous dress and elaborate hat. Cheret lived in Mont Martre in Paris an...
Paper
Charles Korschann Art Nouveau Gilt Bronze Nude
By Charles Korschann
Located in Dallas, TX
Charles Korschann Czechoslovakian Art Nouveau Gilt-Bronze Figural Bud Vase. Cast from a model by Charles (Karl) Korschann, circa 1899, of urn form, with a handle in the form of a...
Bronze
Loetz Oil Spot Glass And Gilt Metal Art Nouveau Compote Vase
By Loetz Glass
Located in Dallas, TX
Loetz Oil Spot Glass And Gilt Metal Art Nouveau Compote Vase Czech Republic Circa. 1900 Art Nouveau Height: 11.75 Inches X Diametter 8.28 inches. Cond...
Metal
Agathon Leonard (Fr 1841-1923 Danseuse Au Cothurne
By Agathon Léonard
Located in Dallas, TX
AGATHON LÉONARD (FRENCH, 1841-1923) Danseuse au Cothurne Signed 'A Léonard' (on reverse) with Susse Frères foundry cachet, further stamped 'M' Gilt Bronze, light brown patina 21 i...
Bronze
