1860 - 1939

Best known for creating Art Nouveau advertising posters, Mucha also tirelessly painted, sculpted, designed, and drafted. He is credited as the father of the Parisian Art Nouveau movement; other artists' works from the period show le style Mucha was, indeed, the standard. 

Although it enjoys great popularity today, at the time when he died, Mucha's style was considered outdated. His son, author Jiří Mucha, devoted much of his life to writing about him and bringing attention to his artwork. In his own country, the new authorities were not interested in Mucha. His Slav Epic was rolled and stored for twenty-five years before being shown in Moravsky Krumlov, and a Mucha museum opened in Prague, managed by his grandson John Mucha.

Mucha's work has continued to experience periodic revivals of interest for illustrators and artists. Interest in Mucha's distinctive style experienced a strong revival during the 1960s, along with a general interest in Art Nouveau.