Fine Art and Good Health for the Masses

rt is eternal, Alfons Mucha maintained, so it could never be merely “nouveau” (1). Contradicting those who saw him as part of a larger art movement, he insisted that his work was his alone. He followed his own creative impulses, was inspired by Czech folk traditions, and sought the spiritual in art. Yet, his palette so expressed the aesthetics of art nouveau that the movement was dubbed le style Mucha. In cities across Europe and North America, amidst sweeping modernization and mechanization in the 1870s to the 1900s, art nouveau embraced all forms and designs, encompassed diverse styles and media, and remained influential well into the 20th century (2). Born of discontent with existing notions and styles, the movement fueled experimentation and reform and shattered the barriers between fine arts (painting, sculpture) and applied arts (ceramics, glassware, furniture, textiles, metalwork). Revolt against convention at times went hand in hand with political revolt against oppressive regimes, as was the case in Mucha’s native Moravia, now Czech Republic, then still part of the Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empire. Folklore was plentiful in Ivancice, Mucha’s hometown near Brno, as were Eastern religious traditions and Slav nationalism, all of which colored his work. Although he reputedly started to draw before he could walk, his talent for music was recognized earlier than his gift for art. As a child and throughout his youth, he sang in the cathedral choir in Brno. Religious images on the walls of the cathedral and other churches awakened his interest in art, particularly drawing. But when he applied for admission to Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts, he was rejected: “Find yourself another profession where you’ll be more useful” was the academy’s recommendation (3). He left for Vienna, starting his career as scene painter in the theater. In Munich and then Paris, he received formal art training and worked on magazine and theater designs. He earned a modest living from illustrations and lithographs and knew Gauguin before his legendary trip to Tahiti, when they briefly shared a studio above the crémerie on Rue de la Grande Chaumière. When they met