In last week’s post I admitted to visiting the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, Florida for the very first time just a few weeks ago. To make up for that sad and pitiful fact, I am dedicating two blog posts to exhibitions currently featured at this hidden gem of an art institution.

Alphonse Mucha: Master of Art Nouveau is on view at the Appleton through January 9, 2022 and it is absolutely worth the price of admission. I was thoroughly enchanted by the work in this traveling exhibition and I learned quite a bit about the Art Nouveau movement, the process of lithography, “The Divine Sarah” Bernhardt, and of course, Alphonse Mucha himself. Mucha, a Czech-born artist who lived from 1860-1939, simultaneously revolutionized advertising and the art world by helping to definea “new art” for a new century.

One of the most unique qualities of this Art Nouveau (“new art”) period was the blurring of lines between so-called “high” and “low” art. Art Nouveau emphasized beautiful and thoughtful design in all objects, not just those in an art museum. This included everyday household objects, subway stops, jewelry, boutiques, candy tins and perfume bottles and spilled into the very advertisements that marketed said items.

Mucha’s artwork appeared in a variety of forms as he was in high demand. One could see his work in ads for bicycles, cigarette papers, champagne, biscuits and chocolates. His talents afforded him book illustration opportunities in which he also designed elaborate and inviting covers that drew readers into the heart of the story being told. He designed magazine covers and elaborate promotional posters for the great actor-director-producer Sara Bernhardt. He even went on to design Czechoslovakian bank notes!

I was truly blown away by the extent of Mucha’s talent. In addition to being a highly skilled illustrator and draughtsman, he was a multitalented artist who also worked in pastel and oil on canvas. For me, the biggest surprise of this exhibition, was learning about Mucha’s magnum opus, the Slav Epic. Mucha spent decades of his life researching, traveling, preparing and executing a grand work of twenty monumental canvases depicting centuries of Slav history.

While none of the canvases in the Slav Epic series are included in this exhibition, some decent information is provided in the form of museum labels, didactict texts and posters that reference Mucha’s fascination with and devotion to Slav history and culture.

For more information on Alphonse Mucha’s Slav Epic, please visit…

http://www.muchafoundation.org/en/gallery/themes/theme/slav-epic

For more information on the Alphonse Mucha exhibition at the Appleton Museum of Art, please visit…