Alphonse Maria Mucha

« Mucha began to take photographs in the early 1880s, probably in Vienna, with a borrowed camera. It was not until he had gained some recognition in Paris and sufficient funds that he purchased his first camera. Mucha’s photographic output grew dramatically after his move to a large studio in the rue du Val de Grâce in 1896. In the new studio, where he had considerably more light thanks to large windows and a glass ceiling, he photographed on a virtually daily basis.

Between 1896 and the early 1900s Mucha made a remarkable series of photographs of the models posing for him. The use of photography as an inexpensive medium for preliminary studies was common among Mucha’s Parisian contemporaries. However, Mucha’s photographs are more than just an alternative to sketches because they also capture the inimitable atmosphere of Mucha’s studio – a world of art in its own right. It was in his studio that that Mucha entertained countless Parisian artists, writers and musicians. It was also the setting for one of the earliest cinematic projections given by the Lumière brothers, whom Mucha had met in 1895, and for psychic experiments with Camille Flammarion and Albert de Rochas. In the background of the studies of models, examples of Mucha’s work may be seen, surrounded by his collection of objets d’art, books and furniture, many of which survive to this day.

The majority of Mucha’s Parisian photographs were not taken for a specific project – he preferred to improvise a number of poses in front of the camera, creating an archive of variants from which he could select what he considered most suitable for the subject of each new commission. However, some photographs were obviously directed, with his friends and models posing as characters for book illustration. Later this practice grew into a part of his experimentation with his models to express his philosophical ideas through theatrical poses and gestures.

Mucha’s theatrical approach culminated in his preparatory work for the Slav Epic canvases. Before working on each canvas Mucha produced numerous staged photographs documenting costumed models posing under his ‘theatre’ directions. From these photographs he selected appropriate images and synthesised them to create a complicated historical event on a single canvas. Although the images were intended as studies for his final paintings, Mucha’s approach to image-making has much in common with filmmaking.
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Alphonse Maria Mucha – Model in studio, 1900s From the book “Osobnosti české fotografie I », by Fárová Anna 1974, ed° UPM Praha typo by Libor Fara © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Model , Studio du Val de grâce for Documents Décoratifs, Paris, 1900 © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha – Model-Study for Figures Decoratives Rue du Val de Grace, 1901© Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha – Model for Medee -1898 (1)

Alphonse Maria Mucha – -Model for Medee ,1898 © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha – Model posing , 1898-89 © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Model posing in Mucha’s studio, Rue du Val de Grâce, Paris (1902-1903) © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha – Model called “La Bise”, pour Cocorico N 3 du 1er fevrier 1899.© Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Hands pose Paris, 1908 © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Musha-Ce modèle servit à illustrer l’article de Maurice Pillard Verneuil De l’emploi de la couleur en impression Trois impressions paru en 1902 dans Art et Décoration. Atelier Mucha, Paris, 1900.

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Ce modèle servit à illustrer l’article de Maurice Pillard Verneuil De l’emploi de la couleur en impression Trois impressions paru en 1902 dans Art et Décoration. Atelier Mucha, Paris, 1900. © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Musha- Photographie du modèle , Atelier Mucha, Paris. 1900

Alphonse Maria Mucha – Photographie du modèle , Atelier Mucha, Paris. 1900 m^me chose que la photo précédente Ce modèle servit à illustrer l’article de Maurice Pillard Verneuil De l’emploi de la couleur en impression Trois impressions paru en 1902 dans Art et Décoration © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Model , Studio du Val de grâce, Paris, 1900 © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Model , Studio du Val de grâce, Paris, 1901

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Model , Studio du Val de grâce, Paris, 1900 © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Model , Studio du Val de grâce, Paris, 1899 © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Model , Studio du Val de grâce, Paris, 1900 © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Model , Studio du Val de grâce, Paris, 1_çè © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Model , Studio du Val de grâce, Paris, 1899 © Alphonse Mucha Trust (4)

Alphonse Maria Mucha - Model posing 1918 © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha - Reclining Half-Nude Model, posing, nd, (1890s)

Model Draped in a Shawl posed against Mucha posters

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Model ( to illustrated the E. Gebhart New York , 1908 © Alphonse Mucha Trust

Alphonse Maria Mucha -Miss Reichl (Max Reinhardt’s Company’s leading actress) posing for ‘Tragedy’, a German Theatre mural, in Mucha’s studio, New York 1908 © Alphonse Mucha Trust