Alphonse Mucha: an overnight sensation in Paris and the start of Art Nouveau

I love this Lithograph, it is epitome of classical feminine grace, elegance and beauty. The colours are soft and warm, while the beautiful curves, layers upon layers are so graceful.

Alphonse Maria Mucha   (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939) is not a "household name" so here are a few interesting details about this remarkable artist and his place in history:

Alphonse Maria Mucha was born in the town of Ivančice, Moravia (today's region of Czech Republic). His singing abilities allowed him to continue his education through high school in the Moravian capital of Brno, even though drawing had been his first love since childhood. He worked at decorative painting jobs in Moravia, mostly painting theatrical scenery, then in 1879 moved to Vienna to work for a leading Viennese theatrical design company, while informally furthering his artistic education. 

Mucha moved to Paris in 1887, and continued his studies at Académie Julian and Académie Colarossi while also producing magazine and advertising illustrations. Around Christmas 1894, Mucha happened to drop into a print shop where there was a sudden and unexpected demand for a new poster to advertise a play starring Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress in Paris, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance. Mucha volunteered to produce a lithographed poster within two weeks, and on 1 January 1895, the advertisement for Gismonda appeared on the streets of the city. It was an overnight sensation and announced the new artistic style and its creator to the citizens of Paris. Bernhardt was so satisfied with the success of that first poster that she entered into a 6 years contract with Mucha.

Mucha produced a flurry of paintings, posters, advertisements, and book illustrations, as well as designs for jewellery, carpets, wallpaper, and theatre sets in what was initially called the Mucha Style but became known as Art Nouveau. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfons_Mucha

lithography |liˈθägrəfē|nounthe process of printing from a flat surface treated so as to repel the ink except where it is required for printing.• Electronics an analogous method for making printed circuits.

The earliest forms of lithography used greasy ink to form an image on a piece of limestone that was then etched with acid and treated with gum arabic. In a modern press, rollers transfer ink to a thin aluminum plate wrapped around a cylinder. In offset lithography the image is transferred to an intermediate rubber-covered cylinder before being printed.

epitome |iˈpitəmē|noun1 ( the epitome of) a person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type : she looked the epitome of elegance and good taste.2 a summary of a written work; an abstract.• archaic a thing representing something else in miniature.ORIGIN early 16th cent.: via Latin from Greek epitomē, fromepitemnein ‘abridge,’ from epi ‘in addition’ + temnein ‘to cut.’

feminine |ˈfemənin|adjective1 having qualities or appearance traditionally associated with women, esp. delicacy and prettiness : a feminine frilled blouse.• of or relating to women; female : he enjoys feminine company.2 Grammar of or denoting a gender of nouns and adjectives, conventionally regarded as female.3 Music (of a cadence) occurring on a metrically weak beat.noun ( the feminine)the female sex or gender : the association of the arts with the feminine.• Grammar a feminine word or form.ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin femininus, from femina‘woman.’