Les Saisons (The Seasons) - Hiver, Printemps, Ete, Automne (Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn)


Alphonse Maria Mucha (1860-1939) was a Moravian painter of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He has a significant role in the Art Nouvean movement. He was the creator of numerous paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards and designs which was an inspiration for many artists of that time. Mucha was born in the town of Ivancice, Moravia. He was a good singer but he admired drawing the most. He worked at decorative painting jobs in Moravia, mostly painting theatrical scenery. His employer Count Karl Khuen of Mikulov was very much inspired by his work and was ready to sponsor Mucha's formal training at the Munic Academy of Fine Arts. He went to Paris for his further studies where he also worked for the producing magazines and advertisement illustrations. Mucha was married to Maruska (Marie/Maria) Chytilova on 10 June 1906, in Prague. Muncha invested many years of his life in creating his fine art masterpiece, The Slav Epic. It contained twenty huge paintings that illustrated the history of the Czech and the Slavic people in general which was donated to the city of Prague in 1928. Though Mucha's works were stamped outdated after his death, his works have now become something to look for inspiration for the illustrators and artists today.