The legacy of Alphonse Mucha takes off in a baroque palace in Prague

PragueThe artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) was not only a key figure in the Czech Secession, but his influence extended throughout Europe and the United States during his lifetime. For example, the Amatller Chocolate Company commissioned him to create their centennial poster in 1900, and the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia) holds some of his posters from its collection. Plain“When Mucha arrived in America in 1904, he was greeted with a cutout of himself on the New York pier that read: ‘Alphonse Mucha, the greatest artist in the world.’ He was considered one of the greats of his time,” recalls his great-grandson, Marcus Mucha, at the new Mucha Museum, opened earlier this year in Prague and renovated by local architect Eva Jiricna. “It’s a beautiful Baroque palace, one of the most beautiful buildings in Prague, and the main hall of the museum is a former Baroque ballroom,” says Mucha, who is also the foundation’s executive director. “And if you look out the windows, right across the street is the theater where Mozart conducted the premiere of…”Don Giovannihe adds.

The exhibition is organized chronologically: the works displayed in the first section, some never before seen, evoke his Czech identity, his family roots, and the path that led him to Paris. "In the Parisian section, there are, of course, the iconic lithographs, but we've also added a new perspective: Mucha was fascinated by the science of the time, especially by studies in physiognomy and the psychology of the gaze. In his posters, he applied this knowledge to guide the eye from gesture to cone to cone to cone to cone to cone by the gaze; he wanted to," explains Marcus Mucha. The new museum also incorporates materials from the immersive exhibition about the artist that was on display in Paris two years ago. "Our goal is twofold: to offer the Czech public a new way to appreciate their national artist and, at the same time, to show new facets to international visitors," says the great-grandson. However, the opening of the new Mucha Museum was not without controversy, as it meant that the artist's heirs removed the works they had deposited in the previous museum dedicated to the artist in Prague, which remains open.

The transformation from artist to thinker

The second part of the permanent exhibition is entitledFrom the new world to utopiaAnd it represents a shift from his earlier work. "The Mucha of the second half of his life was not only an artist, but a thinker: he believed that art could unite cultures, be a universal good for humanity, and build bridges instead of walls," says his great-grandson. "His affiliation with Czech Freemasonry also had a significant influence," he explains. This transformation occurred gradually, beginning after the Austro-Hungarian Empire commissioned him to design a pavilion for the new province of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Universal Exposition in Paris. "In 1900, Mucha was experiencing a brilliant period in Paris: he was rich, famous, and well-connected with figures such as the Lumière brothers, who conducted the first film experiments in his studio; Auguste Rodin; and Paul Gauguin, with whom he shared an apartment," says his great-grandson. Yet, he remained unhappy. "When he received the commission for the pavilion, he made research trips, during which he felt a great affinity with the South Slavic peoples, who reminded him of his native Moravia. He understood that, while he enjoyed success and comfort, these communities lived oppressed and without freedom. [This was] philosophical and utopian," he explains.

This entire process culminated in the cycle of the twenty gigantic paintings of Slavic epicThey are too large to be displayed in this building—they are kept in Moravia, at Moravský Krumlov Castle, near where Mucha was born—and are scheduled to be shown in a dedicated space designed by the British architect Thomas Heatherwick, in whose complex the Mucha Museum is the first completed part.

An artist "of little use" to the communist rulers

The global recognition of Mucha's legacy is relatively recent: in communist Czechoslovakia, his work was considered "ideologically useless," says his great-grandson, to the point that they considered destroying the Slavic epic cycle. "My father hadn't been able to study here under the communist regime and had to leave for England in 1966. He met my English mother, and my siblings and I were born and raised there. We knew our great-grandfather was an artist, but we didn't expect to be able to return to Prague," recalls the great-grandson. The situation changed after the Velvet Revolution of 1968, and the ensuing research revealed the extent to which his work had been undervalued. "We have taken up this legacy: protecting the works is fundamental, but so is disseminating them. Alphonse believed that art made people a little happier, and that happiness generated kindness. If people are kinder, the world becomes a better place," says the great-grandson.

A source of inspiration for invisible communities

Despite the critical disdain Mucha received for many years, his great-grandson defends his enduring relevance because "he connected with communities traditionally invisible within the history of Western art." "In the 1970s, the pioneers of female manga in Japan found in him a symbol of freedom to challenge established gender roles," explains Marcus Mucha. "In the UK and the US, his style inspired the psychedelic movement. And in the 1990s, American comic artists like Joe Quesada, who was the editor of 2010, embraced his influence." Marcus Mucha also highlights the mark his great-grandfather has left on manifestations of popular culture such asstreet art, tattoos and the aesthetics of video games and series likeArcane"That's what makes him so democratic and universal: he himself said that his art was not for the elites, but for everyone," he concludes.

In the field of architecture, the Savarin project, to which the museum belongs, is one of the largest urban development projects in the center of Prague, covering an area of 15,000 m². It includes the reconstruction of existing historic buildings and the creation of a new public space with green areas and commercial spaces. The project manager is Thomas Heatherwick, known for works such as Little Island Park in New York, a green space elevated above the Hudson River by 132 concrete columns.