Alphonse Mucha

Art by Alphonse Mucha

Alfons Maria Mucha, also known internationally as Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), was a Czech graphic designer, painter and illustrator. He lived in Paris during the Art Nouveau period and is best known for his remarkably stylized and decorative theater posters such as those of Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress in Paris at the time. Mucha produced paintings, advertisements, book illustrations and designs for carpets, jewelry and theatrical sets, in what was called the Mucha style. His works featured beautiful young women in neoclassical clothing surrounded by flowers that formed like haloes.