Alphonse Mucha shown with posters for Sarah Bernhardt in his studio, c. 1901. Gelatin silver print © Mucha Trust 2015

NORWICH.- The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, Norwich announces a new exhibition Alphonse Mucha: In Quest of Beauty. 

The Sainsbury Centre is one of the UK’s principal places for the study and display of Art Nouveau. Following on from the 2012 exhibition, The First Moderns: Art Nouveau from Nature to Abstraction and 2014 Sense and Sensuality: Art Nouveau 1890-1914 this exhibition continues the Sainsbury Centre’s continued dedication to the study and presentation of the style that, more than any other, inaugurated the push towards Modern design. 

Alphonse Mucha, Rêverie. 1897. Colour lithograph. © Mucha Trust 2015

Czech-born Alphonse Mucha (1860 – 1939) is one of the most celebrated artists of the fin-de-siècle, and a founding figure in the development of Art Nouveau. He rose to international fame incredibly quickly, mainly with his elegant designs for decorative panels, and stunning advertising posters, including those designed for actress Sarah Bernhardt, the greatest stage personality of her era and an influential figure in Mucha’s life. Perhaps his poster Gismonda, designed in 1895 for Bernhardt, was the key to his rapid rise. It caused a sensation in Paris, with its unusually tall format, restrained colours and elegantly flowing outlines. Within a year of its appearance, ‘Le style Mucha’ became synonymous with the phenomenon that was becoming Art Nouveau.  

Alphonse Mucha, Sarah Bernhardt as La Princesse Lointaine: Poster for La Plume magazine, 1897. Colour lithograph © Mucha Trust 2015.

Alphonse Mucha: In Quest of Beauty explores the work of the artist, through the theme of beauty, which was the core principle underlying his artistic philosophy, whilst also highlighting his contribution to the Art Nouveau style. The exhibition also recognises the fact that Mucha considered himself a painter, and shows the way his work changed as he came to embrace painting more exclusively, and how he sought to develop a Modern Czech style following his return to his native Czechoslovakia.  

Alphonse Mucha, Label for 'Lefèvre-Utile Gaufrettes Vanille'. Colour lithograph © Mucha Trust 2015

The show includes over 65 works drawn primarily from the collection of the Mucha Trust, focusing on drawings, paintings, photographs and iconic posters. Alongside these extraordinary works are masterpieces by artists such as Larche, Lalique Fouquet and Gallé, from the Sainsbury Centre’s own renowned Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau. These latter works provide a context for Mucha, and explain the extraordinary flourishing of the decorative arts in the period.

Alphonse Mucha, Head of a Girl, statue for the stand of the Houbigant Perfumery at the Paris Exhibition, 1900. Bronze, silver and parcel gilt © Mucha Trust 2015

Georges Fouquet, Orchid brooch, 1898. Gold, ruby. Pearl and enamel. Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau, Sainbsury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia