Alfons Mucha

Alfons Mucha was a Czech artist who became the defining figure of the Art Nouveau style. Born in 1860 in Moravia, he shot to fame in 1890s Paris with elegant posters for the actress Sarah Bernhardt. His signature look, beautiful women with flowing hair framed by flowers, stars, and swirling decorative borders, spread across posters, advertisements, and decorative panels throughout Europe.

Despite his commercial success, Mucha considered his greatest work to be the Slav Epic, a series of huge paintings celebrating the history of the Slavic peoples. Deeply patriotic, he poured years into this personal project. Mucha's graceful, ornamental style became so influential that it still shapes how we picture the elegance of the era around 1900.