Czechoslovakian Alphonse Mucha was THE Art Nouveau artist. In fact, Art Nouveau was termed "Mucha Style" for a time before it was termed "Art Nouveau". Most of Mucha's Art Nouveau style work was produced commercially, and in his life, Mucha sought to distance himself from his commercial art. He believed commercial art was a betrayal of fine art and he hated to be considered a "sell out" essentially. He believed that all art conveys the spiritual and comes from within, but much to his chagrin, the fame in his life came from his commercial art, leading to great frustration for the poor man.
I admire the Art Nouveau style and you can see it in some of my work. What I am drawn to is not the images of Neoclassical women, or the pastel colors, because neither of those inspire me much, but it is the way nature is portrayed in this style that truly appeals to me. In each photo I have posted, take note of the trees, the leaves, the flow of nature that runs through each piece. Again, this liquidity and swirls of color can be translated to glass. Glass is a liquid medium (some would say a highly viscous liquid, or better yet, an amorphous solid) and that is what draws me to it. It is unlike any other substance on this planet. When I see nature represented with such flow, it reminds me of the beauty of glass, and better yet, what I can do with it!
So while Mucha didn't fully appreciate Mucha, he was a pioneer in art who continues to inspire artists to this day.
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