Alphonse Mucha and his wife Marushka, behind - Complesso del Vittoriano (photo from the exhibition page on the website of the Alphonse Mucha Foundation)
Many works will be seen by the Italian public for the first time.
Alphonse Mucha. lovers
Alphonse Mucha
lovers
1895, 106.5×137 cm.
Alphonse Mucha. self-portrait
Almost 100 years after Alphonse Mucha and his wife visited Rome, the capital of Italy is hosting the largest retrospective of the Czech artist in the history of the country - the “Art Nouveau icon”. The Alphonse Mucha exhibition at the Vittoriano (Complesso del Vittoriano) presents more than 200 works, from paintings and drawings to a luxurious interior renovation for Fouquet's boutique in Paris.
The exposition includes the legendary poster for the play "Gismonde" with Sarah Bernard, "Madonna of the Lilies", "Summer" from the "Seasons" series, sketches for the "Slavic Epic", posters, drawings, paintings, jewelry, books and photographs.
Alphonse Mucha and his wife Marushka, behind - Complesso del Vittoriano (photo from the exhibition page on the website of the Alphonse Mucha Foundation)
Many works will be seen by the Italian public for the first time.
Alphonse Mucha. Lovers. 1895, 106.5×137 cm.
Alphonse Mucha (1860 - 1939) was one of the most famous artists in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Combining portraits of seductive women with the latest advances in print, he created highly original posters and spawned a new genre of fine art that flourished in Belle Epoque Paris. During a visit to the United States in 1904, Mucha was hailed by the local press as "the world's greatest decorative artist".
Left: Alphonse Mucha, Self Portrait (1899)
Alphonse Mucha. Madonna of the Lilies. 1905, 247×182 cm.
Alphonse Mucha is considered one of the "fathers" of the Art Nouveau art movement, which is characterized by the predominance of soft lines, floral shapes and plant motifs. But in reality, he was a multifaceted and versatile master who experimented with different styles and approaches. Mucha was firmly convinced that the value of art is in the reflection of life, and this does not apply exclusively to the aesthetic sphere, but rather finds its completion in it.
Alphonse Mucha. Summer. From the series "Seasons"
Alphonse Mucha, "Summer. From the series "The Seasons" (1896) 1 Alphonse Mucha, Painting. From the series "Arts" (1898)
In addition, Mucha, who was born in southern Moravia in what was then Austria-Hungary, was an ardent patriot. He deeply believed in the political freedom of his homeland and the spiritual unity of the Slavic peoples, and therefore devoted a significant part of his talent, energy and time to the glorification of freedom and brotherhood. The artist dreamed of a world where ethnic minorities live in harmony, not under the pressure of more powerful states. These utopian ideals are manifested in his masterpiece The Slavic Epic (1911-1928). The exhibition in Rome presents a sketch for canvas No. 14 from this series - "Nikolai Zrinski defends Sziget from the Turks."
Alphonse Mucha. Sketch for the painting "Nikolai Zrinski defends Sziget from the Turks" 1913, 31 × 44 cm.
The exhibition at the Vittoriano is divided into six sections: "Bohemian in Paris", "Creator of images for the general public", "Cosmopolitan", "Mystic", "Patriot" and "Artist-philosopher".
Alphonse Mucha. Poster for the play "Gismonda" with Sarah Bernhardt
The first section contains posters for performances with the participation of Sarah Bernhardt. The main poster is "Gismonda", from which Alphonse Mucha's ascent to the heights of glory began. At the end of 1894, the famous actress was looking for an artist to design a poster for the upcoming new production, but none satisfied her. In the end, only Mucha remained, who created the sketch in great haste. The printer was bewildered: he had never seen anything like it. The poster, which combined Byzantine motifs with Art Deco techniques, looked ultra-modern. Everyone was sure that the prima donna would reject him. However, Bernard invited Alphonse Mucha to a meeting and claimed that he had made her immortal. Since then, the actress has not allowed anyone else to portray her.
Alphonse Mucha, poster for Gismonda based on the play by Victorien Sardou with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role (1895)
This work made the Czech artist the most famous poster designer of his time and gave birth to the terms "Muha's style" and "Muha's women".
Alphonse Mucha. Portrait of Jari (Yaroslava) 1935, 73 × 60 cm.
This logically follows the content of the second section of the exhibition - "Creator of images for the general public." These are posters and decorative panels created for commercial purposes. Among other things, it features "Decorative Materials" (1902), a practical design guide for craftsmen intended to "help inculcate aesthetic values in the arts and crafts."
Alphonse Mucha. Chocolate "Ideal". 1897, 117×78 cm.
Alphonse Mucha. Decorative materials: lily outline
Alphonse Mucha. Decorative Materials: Accessory Sketches
Alphonse Mucha, "Decorative materials: sketches of a lily" (1901 - 1902) 1 Alphonse Mucha, "Decorative materials: sketches of accessories" (1901 - 1902)
Ring designed by Georges Fouquet and designed by Alphonse Mucha
The centerpieces of the third Cosmopolitan section showcase Alphonse Mucha at the height of his fame, from the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900 to works created in collaboration with renowned French jeweler Georges Fouquet. This also included works of the "American period": scenery for the "German Theater" in New York and posters for actresses Leslie Carter and Maud Adams.
Alphonse Mucha, reconstruction of the Art Nouveau interior of Georges Fouquet's jewelry store in Paris (1900)
The fourth section of the retrospective in Rome is devoted to the influence of spiritualism and Masonic philosophy in Mucha's work. They came to the fore in Le Pater (Our Father), an illustrated book that was published in 1899.
Alphonse Mucha. Cover of the illustrated book "Our Father". 1899, 41×31 cm.
Section five presents the patriotic aspect of Mucha's career after his return to his homeland in 1910. Particular attention is focused on the creation of the "Slavic Epic": here you can see preparatory sketches, sketches, documents and photographs associated with this series of monumental works.
Alphonse Mucha. “By strength for freedom, with love for unity!”: a sketch for the mural “With our own strength II” in the Public House in Prague. 1911, 79×98 cm.
Alphonse Mucha. Light of Hope. 1933, 96.2×90.7 cm.
Finally, the curators introduce Alphonse Mucha as a philosopher, and the sixth section contains works that illustrate his humanitarian ideals and response to the threat of war in a rapidly changing world.
Alphonse Mucha, "Age of Reason" (1936 - 1938)
Alphonse Mucha, "Age of Love" (1936 - 1938)
The exposition ends with the last project of the artist - the triptych "Age of Reason", "Age of Wisdom" and "Age of Love", conceived as a monument to humanity as a whole. And although the work, begun in 1936, was not finished, there are enough sketches for it to feel the message that the master wanted to convey to all living people.
Alphonse Mucha. Age of Wisdom. 1938, 55×32 cm.
Based on materials from the official website of the Alphonse Mucha Foundation, the official website of Complesso del Vittoriano and artdaily.com
Author: Vlad Maslov
Source -
Retrospective of the most exquisite Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha opened in Paris. The exhibition presents all facets of the artist's talent - painter, graphic artist, designer, theater master.
Mucha was born into a poor family near Brno, Czech Republic, and although it became clear quite early that he had a talent for drawing, the family did not have money for higher education. Working as a clerk, Mucha created scenery in an amateur theater, where he was noticed and invited to Vienna. After the Vienna theater burned down, Mucha worked as a decorator for a Moravian aristocratic family, one of whom agreed to pay for his education. After studying for a short time at the Munich Academy, Mucha went to the most famous Parisian Academy of Colarossi, but due to the death of a patron, he did not study there even for a year. Poverty forced the artist to take up design - to create posters, calendars and even restaurant menus.
The chance opened the way for Mucha to great success. He received an order for a poster for Sarah Bernhardt's play Gismonda. The poster impressed the great actress so much that she invited the artist to become a theater decorator, and soon they had a romantic relationship. From that moment on, fortune turned to face the artist. The image of a pretty young lady immersed in flowers became an Art Nouveau icon worshiped by her contemporaries. And Mucha instantly became a sought-after artist.
Orders rained down on him from all sides.In addition to working in the theater, he did not leave design work. The angelic female character, invented by Mucha, went into circulation - adorned the labels of numerous goods, from champagne and waffles to bicycles and matches. In addition, Mukha was engaged in the design of jewelry, interiors, and applied arts. Numerous examples of the artist's design projects, which have become rarities, are widely represented at the exhibition.
After marrying his model Maria Khitilova, Marushka, Mukha moved to the USA, where he also enjoyed great success. From there he returns to the Czech Republic and begins to engage in "high art". Since then, he has been working on the "Slavic Epos" - a cycle of giant historical paintings, which he finishes in 1928 and donates to the state. After the occupation of Prague and several arrests by the Gestapo, the artist died of pneumonia in 1939. A number of sketches for the cycle can also be seen at the exhibition - the paintings themselves, due to their huge size, do not leave the Exhibition Palace in Prague.
Alphonse Mucha
Gismonda
1894
Fondation Mucha, Prague
© Mucha Trust 2018
Alphonse Mucha
Zodiac
1896
Fondation Mucha, Prague
© Mucha Trust 2018
Alphonse Mucha
Poster for "Salon des Cent Mucha Exhibition June 1897"
1897
Fondation Mucha, Prague
© Mucha Trust 2018
Alphonse Mucha
"Christmas in America"
1919
Fondation Mucha, Prague
© Mucha Trust 2018
Alphonse Mucha
"Woman in the Wilderness"
1923
Fondation Mucha, Prague
© Mucha Trust 2018
From January 16 to April 14, 2013, in the Saratov State Art Museum named after A.N. Radishchev (Radishchev St., 39), as part of the "Graphic Album" cycle, an exhibition of rare works "Alphonse Mucha. Decorative panels, billboards, posters" is open.
Alfons Mucha (1860-1939) - an outstanding Czech artist, master of theatrical and advertising posters. His name has become a symbol of art at the turn of the century. The exhibition from the collection of the Radishevsky Museum is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the master. Fourteen works by the artist, made in the technique of lithography, were acquired by the Bogolyubov Drawing School and transferred to the museum in 1898.
The artist had a great influence on a whole generation of graphic artists, designers; for many, his work is associated with the Art Nouveau style.
The new style arose almost simultaneously in many European countries and received different names. The terms "modern" - modern, "art nouveau" / "art nouveau" - new art (fr.) were most often used. A feature of this style was the rejection of straight lines and angles in favor of a more natural smooth movement of curved lines. They resemble dancing, wavy arabesques imbued with the energy and vitality of plants.
Mucha's works in painting, architecture, small decorative forms are remembered for their exquisite elements, calligraphically traced lines, which formed the "exemplary modern" style.
Alfons Mucha was born on July 24, 1860 in the Moravian town of Ivančice. His father served as a bailiff, the family had a modest income. The future artist grew up in an atmosphere of strict Catholicism. He received his initial art education in Brno.
In 1880 he worked in Vienna as an employee of the theater scenery company, later as a court painter for Count P. Kuen (1881-1885). Then he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (1885-1887) and the R. Julien Academy in Paris.
From 1887 to 1922, Mucha lived mainly in Paris. Here he achieved his first success. In 1894, he made a poster for the play "Gismonde" based on the play by the French playwright Victorien Sardou (1831-1908), in which the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt played. This poster for the Renaissance Theater was emphatically vertical and featured unusual multicolor and detailing. Previously, posters with a large amount of text and a few small illustrations, usually in 1-2 colors, prevailed.
The completely unknown artist Mucha made a breakthrough in art. His posters covered the walls of Paris on New Year's Eve 1895. Sarah Bernhardt was so impressed by the artist's work that she immediately offered him a six-year exclusive contract. Posters were made for her: "The Lady of the Camellias" (1896), "Lorenzaccio" (1896), "The Samaritan Woman" (1897), "Medea" (1898), "Hamlet" (1899) and "Tosca" (1899). Mucha was also engaged in scenography, designed scenery and costumes for the Renaissance Theater.
The collections of the Radishchev Museum own three posters made by Mucha during the Parisian period. The earliest - "Gismonde", "Lorenzaccio" - for a performance based on the play by Alfred de Musset, "The Samaritan Woman" - for the production of Rostand's drama, where Sarah Bernard played the main roles.
Mucha is the author of several series of decorative panels: "Seasons" (1896), "Flowers" (1898), "Arts" (1898), "Months" (1899), "Precious Stones" (1900) and "Stars" (1901) . Decorative panels of large size were produced in a limited edition, they were printed on silk or thick paper, lavishly framed and hung on the walls or they decorated the screens.
The exhibition presents four works from the first series "Seasons" - "Spring", "Summer", "Autumn" and "Winter". The cycle "Flowers" - "Rose", "Iris", "Carnation" and "Lily" is fully exhibited. The center of each composition is a woman in flowing clothes, with a luxurious crown of hair, immersed in a sea of flowers. Captivating and mysterious, sometimes impregnably fatal. Her beautiful and graceful figure, inscribed in an ornamental system of flowers and leaves, symbols and arabesques, has become the artist's trademark.
At the same time, Mucha creates sketches for calendars and menus, various advertising posters. The exhibition features advertisements for JOB cigarette paper, Bieresde la Meuse (Mass) beer, and a sheet from the Calendrier L`Evocation (Resurrection in Memory) calendar.
In 1897 the first personal exhibition of the artist opened in the gallery "La Bodiniere". The next year - the second, larger one - in the Salon des Cent (Salon of the Hundred), and then she traveled all over Europe. Since 1898 the artist taught at the Carmen Academy. At the same time, Mucha collaborated with the famous Parisian jeweler Georges Fouquet. Together they created a collection in the "Fly style". The artist designed the facade and interior of his shop.
At the turn of the century, Alphonse Mucha became a real master, who was carefully listened to in circles of the artistic community. In 1901, his book "Decorative Documentation" was published. This is a visual guide for artists, on the pages of which a variety of ornamental patterns, fonts, drawings of furniture, various utensils, cutlery, jewelry, watches, combs, brooches are reproduced. Much was subsequently made in metal and wood, such as gold brooches and a necklace with portraits of Sarah Bernhardt, intended for the actress herself.
During his travels in his native Moravia and the Czech Republic (1902), Mucha became interested in creating epic patriotic paintings, depicting the history of the Slavic people in a neoclassical style. However, they were not as successful as his early Art Nouveau works. Since 1903, Mucha made several trips to the United States, where he worked as a painter and teacher.
After the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic (1918), its government instructed Alfons Mucha to develop the design of the national currency, the first series of postage stamps, one of the variants of the state emblem, government forms and envelopes. In the same years, he worked on the interiors of the most famous buildings in Prague - the Municipal House, the hotels "Europe" and "Imperial", creates a sketch of the stained-glass window of the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle, which is being completed.
In 1928, Mucha presented Prague and the Czech people with a large cycle of 20 giant paintings "Slavic Epic", dedicated to the history of the Slavs (Czechs, Poles, Bulgarians, Russians and other Slavic peoples). In order to create "Russian" works, Mucha made a trip to Russia in the year of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty (1913). The artist got acquainted with St. Petersburg and Moscow.
In 1936 he published his memoirs. After the German invasion of Czechoslovakia (1939), the Gestapo was one of the first to arrest Alfons Mucha. His last work was The Oath to Unify the Slavs (1939). The artist died on July 14, 1939, and was buried at the Vysehrad Cemetery in Prague. In 1998, the Alfons Mucha Museum was opened in the Czech capital. It is interesting that Alphonse Mucha himself in every possible way denied his closeness to modernity. For him, belonging to any style in art means losing his own individuality. He did not want to be remembered only as a master of "beautiful things". "Slavic epic" he called the main work of his life. And yet, in the history of art, Alphonse Mucha remained as an artist of the Art Nouveau era.
The painting “Summer” from the series “The Seasons” by Alphonse Mucha, on display at the museum in the Luxembourg Garden Xenia Gulia/RFI
In the museum in the Luxembourg Gardens, a retrospective of one of the most famous representatives of Art Nouveau, Alphonse Mucha, opened in September. This is the first exhibition in Paris since 1980 dedicated to the outstanding Czech artist - the author of theater posters, illustrations, jewelry and the monumental "Slavic Epic", donated to Prague. The organizers of the exhibition set themselves the goal of showing the diversity of Mucha's creativity.
The first thing that catches your eye in the biography of Alphonse Mucha is, of course, a series of hints of fate and accidents - both tragic and happy.
Mucha was born in 1860 in the town of Ivančice in Moravia, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Since childhood, he was fond of painting, but failed the entrance exams to the Prague Academy. This failure did not shake his determination to become artists. Mucha returned to his native Ivančice and began to make scenery and posters for the local amateur theater.
The young artist was soon noticed and invited to Vienna as a theater decorator. In 1881, Mucha's Viennese career came to an abrupt end - after a tragic fire in the "Ringtheater", which claimed the lives of about 400 people. This theater was one of the main customers of the workshop where Mucha worked. The firm suffered huge financial losses, Mukha and several other employees were fired from it.
This tragic incident shocked Mukha. The artist left Vienna and went to the Moravian town of Mikulov. Here he received his first major commissions from Count Karl Kuen-Belasi, including painting his palace. The count, admiring the talent of an amateur artist, paid for his studies in Munich, and then in Paris, where Mucha settled in 1887. In the capital of France, Mucha first entered the Julian Art Academy, then the Colarossi Academy.
However, very soon, in 1889, due to financial difficulties, Count Kuen-Belasi stopped money transfers to his protégé. The Czech artist was left in Paris virtually without a livelihood. This forced him to interrupt his studies and start earning money by making all kinds of illustrations for Parisian and Prague publications. His studio was above Madame Charlotte's café on the Rue Grande Chaumière. At one time, Mucha shared it with Paul Gauguin, who turned out to be virtually penniless after returning from Tahiti.
A real breakthrough in the fate of Alphonse Mucha occurred on January 1, 1985, when his posters for the premiere of the play "Gismonde" with the great Sarah Bernhardt appeared all over Paris. This poster was ordered by the Renaissance Theater from Mukha at the last moment, on December 26. This work instantly glorified Mucha. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Sarah Bernard, seeing the poster, said: “How beautiful! Now you will work for me, with me. I already love you." The Czech artist signed a six-year contract with the "divine Sarah" and made posters for other performances with her participation ("Medea", "The Lady of the Camellias", "Hamlet" and others).
Posters for the performances "Lady of the Camellias" and "Gismonde" by Alphonse Mucha Siegfried Forster / RFI
These famous posters of Sarah Bernhardt and other illustrations by Alphonse Mucha can be seen on display in the Luxembourg Gardens. In total, about two hundred of his works are exhibited here - from the packaging of cookies and advertising of champagne to large canvases of his late period, when Mucha turned to the history of the Slavic peoples. In the center of Mucha's work, there are invariably female figures.
“Muha understood that female images always attract attention,” Tomoko Sato, curator of the exhibition and curator of the Prague Fly Foundation, says in an interview with RFI. - Perhaps that is why women are at the center of his work, whom he surrounded with flowers and other natural motifs. This is what became the recognizable decorative “Fly style”. He often used a variety of circles, curved lines, experimented with these forms to convey his message. As an illustrator and advertiser, he used these techniques to interest the general public. But he transferred this technique to his later works.
Alphonse Mucha became famous primarily as an illustrator and decorator. The organizers of the exhibition emphasize that his later historical canvases are still little known, especially in France. They wanted to pay special attention to them. One of the halls of the exhibition is called "Fly, Patriot". In it, for example, Mucha's work entitled "France kisses Bohemia" in 1918, dedicated to the formation of Czechoslovakia and the liberation from Austria-Hungary. But Mucha's most famous later work is the Slavic Epic series - twenty monumental canvases, to which he devoted almost twenty years of his life. They are dedicated to various episodes of history and mythology and are imbued with the ideas of pan-Slavism.
Mucha was born in 1860, when the nationalist movement in his homeland was on the rise. Like all members of his generation, Mucha was a nationalist, says Tomoko Sato. - He considered the independence of his country as the highest goal, and he wanted to contribute to this movement as an artist. It was first. Mucha grew up as a person, gained new experience, worked in many places, in Paris he got acquainted with new ideas. His nationalistic views were transformed into more humanitarian and pacifist ideas. This became the starting point for the creation of the "Slavic Epic" and his other later works.
An exhibition of works by Alphonse Mucha runs in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris until January 27, 2019. The museum is open every day, seven days a week. The entrance ticket costs 13 euros. Discounts are provided.
Paris
An exhibition of the famous Czech artist Alphonse Maria Mucha, one of the leaders of the Art Nouveau movement, which in different countries is called Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Liberty or Tiffany, has opened at the Luxembourg Museum in Paris. The exposition presents about two hundred works of the painter, who was also a decorator, designer, sculptor, poster artist, photographer, mystic philosopher, freemason and teacher.
Mucha's decorative work enjoyed tremendous success all over the world. He designed interiors, worked for famous jewelers, illustrated books and magazines, drew labels and vignettes, invented advertisements for chocolate, champagne, soap, biscuits, bicycles, etc. All this was replicated in thousands of copies around the world.
The visionary artist saw a special mission, the curators of the Parisian retrospective emphasize, in uniting the Slavic peoples. He believed that art, which had common Byzantine roots, would help unite them in the interests of all mankind. One of the main sections of the current exhibition is "Fly - Patriot". "An artist," he said, "should be faithful to his national roots."
The master considered the Slavic Epic, a large-scale cycle of twenty paintings, almost his highest creative achievement. They capture the most important, from his point of view, episodes in the history of the Slavs of different countries. The central canvas "The Abolition of Serfdom in Rus'" in composition largely repeats Surikov's "Morning of the Streltsy Execution". It is curious that this grandiose project was financed by the American millionaire businessman Charles Crane.
A native of the small town of Ivancice in Moravia, which was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Mucha studied in Vienna, Munich, and then in Paris. In these cities - and then in New York - he stood at the origins of Slavic associations, societies and clubs.
In Paris, Mucha joined the "Salon of a Hundred", which collected literary and artistic bohemia - Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, Mallarmé, Verlaine, the inventors of cinematography by the Lumiere brothers. For some time he shared his Parisian studio with the impoverished Paul Gauguin, who had returned from Tahiti and was preparing an exhibition of his latest works. The same Gauguin and the famous Czech artist Frantisek Kupka sometimes served as models for Mucha.
Glory came to him overnight. In 1895, he wrote a poster for the great actress Sarah Bernard, who played in Victorien Sardou's play Gismonda at the Renaissance Theatre. All of Paris was plastered with posters. In the future, Mukha for several years invented posters, costumes and scenery for the performances of Medea, The Lady of the Camellias, The Samaritan Woman, Tosca, Hamlet, Lorenzaccio. His work, art critics argued, was a breath of fresh air for the Parisian scene.
Largely thanks to the brilliant designer, at the end of the 19th century in France, the poster took a central place in the fine arts. “I prefer to be a popular illustrator,” the painter emphasized, “rather than an apologist for art for art’s sake.” And during the years of the rapid flowering of avant-garde movements in Europe, he invariably spoke out in defense of figurative painting.
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the general public was dizzy by the so-called “women of the Fly”. As art historians note, in his works the artist reflected the Slavic type - languid, sensual, mysterious, exotic beauties, with a lush mop of hair. They often symbolized art forms, seasons, signs of the zodiac, or precious stones. Their popularity was also facilitated by the fact that in those years France, as art critics recall, was swept by a wave of Slavophilism. It culminated in a visit to Paris in 1896 by the Russian monarch Nicholas II.
In Russia, the Czech master became widely known immediately after the first exhibition of works in St. Petersburg in 1898. At the same time, the Volga Shipping Company signed a contract with the French company Ruinart to advertise champagne, invented again by Alphonse Mucha.
The artist visited our country in 1913 on the eve of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, collecting material for the Slavic Epic. At that time, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna Romanova supported the "Russian Orthodox Modern", which was so in tune with the Czech artist. Mucha visited St. Petersburg and Moscow - the Tretyakov Gallery, the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, visited his friend, the artist Leonid Pasternak, on the day when his son Boris celebrated the release of his poetry collection. In Russia, the guest was struck by the fact that he saw his posters and posters everywhere.
According to eyewitnesses, he saw that the “original Russian spirit” had awakened in our country. Later, during the famine in Russia in the early 1920s, for the international society "Pomgol" ("Help for the Starving"), he painted a picture-poster Russia restituenda ("Russia will be reborn"). On it, he depicted a young mother with a dying child in her arms.
After the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany in March 1939, Mucha was included in the Gestapo lists as a "dangerous patriot - artist." He was among the first arrested, shortly after interrogation, he fell ill with pneumonia and died on July 14, 1939, a few days before his 79th birthday.