Alphons Maria Mucha (1860 - 1939)

Born 24 Jul 1860 in Eibenschitz, Brno, Morava, Rakousko

Husband of Marie (Chytilová) Muchová — married 10 Jun 1906 in Prag, Königreich Böhmen, Rakousko

Descendants

Died 14 Jul 1939 at age 78 in Prag, Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren, Deutsches Reich

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Biography

Alphonse Mucha has Czech Roots.

Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist.

Alphons Maria Mucha (aka Alphonse Mucha) was born July 24, 1860 and was baptized the next day in Ivančice, South Moravia, Czech Republic.^[1] He was the son of Andreas Mucha and Amalie Mala.^[1]

He moved to Paris, France, in 1888, where he became a prominent figure of the "Art Nouveau" style, becoming famous for his theatrical posters for the great actress Sarah Bernhardt, and his decorative works for the Paris Universal Exposition in 1900.

He married Maruška Chytilová in Prague on June 10, 1906, of whom he had two children.

Himself considered later the Art Nouveau period, for which he is best known today, as a minor part of his work. His objective was to be a history painter. Back in Prague by 1910, he dedicated himself to what he considered his main achievement, the Slav Epic, a series of twenty large paintings illustrating accomplishments of the Slavic peoples of Europe.

As a Slav nationalist and Freemason, he was arrested in the spring of 1939 when Germany declared Czechoslovakia to be part of the Greater German Reich. Interrogated for several days, he was released but his health deteriorated fast, and he died in Prague on 14 Jul, 1939, just before the outbreak of the second Word War.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Birth: Actapublica Ivančice - image 252, page 492.

• Mucha Museum.
• Wikipedia Article on Alphonse Mucha.
• Find A Grave: Memorial #9426038