Beauty with a capital ‘B’

The father of Art Nouveau. The father of propaganda and advertising art. The propagator of Beauty with a capital B.

While sitting in a cubicle in Cafè Jubilee recently, I looked around and spotted a couple of ads made by the famed Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha. Little could I imagine that in a matter of weeks I would be viewing the real thing.

Alphonse Mucha’s name conjures many associations. He is one of those artists who hardly needs any introduction. And if his name does not ring a bell, then his art will.

His creations possess timelessness and evoke a bittersweet nostalgia. His depictions of the female form personify muses, virtues, seasons… they symbolise all that is quintessentially beautiful, untarnished and as close to perfect as possible.

And in a matter of days his designs, illustrations and paintings will be accessible and available for all to view in Valletta.

International modern art exhibitions had almost become a phantom of the past in Malta; with shows featuring etchings and small bronzes by Henry Moore, lithographs by Salvador Dalí (1904-1989), Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945), Pierre Soulages (b. 1919) and engravings of Arnaldo Pomodoro (b. 1926) practically forgotten.

So news of the upcoming Mucha show has naturally already generated considerable hype.

John Mucha, the artist’s grandson, and his wife Sarah spoke about the importance of the show and the lasting significance of Mucha’s work.

The exhibition, titled ‘Alphonse Mucha: In Quest of Beauty’, will be held at the Gran Salon at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.

Sarah Mucha explains it is not the first time the Mucha foundation showed an interest in exhibiting Mucha’s works in this country: “We had tried in the past to hold an exhibition in Malta so we naturally said we would be delighted (when we were offered the opportunity by Heritage Malta).”

She explains how this exhibition has been created especially for the occasion and that the works in this show are exclusively from the collection of the Mucha Trust. The Mucha Foundation, headquartered in Prague, is responsible for the organisation of exhibitions on behalf of the trust.

The exhibition, which will comprise over 100 exhibits, will cover all periods of Mucha’s artistic career. Moreover, the show will be divided into three main sections: Women and ‘le style Mucha’; Flowers and Nature; Beauty – Truth – Love.

Discussing the relevance of Mucha’s work and contribution to present day visual art and design, foundation curator, Tomoko Sato, explains how “Mucha is very important today because of his idea about graphic art and his philosophy as an artist”.

“As a graphic artist, Mucha was one of the fathers of modern advertising art. In designing posters, Mucha was always conscious about how to communicate with people, and he regarded art as a visual language.

“His distinctive style (le style Mucha as coined by Parisians) was the outcome of his design strategy – a simple composition, using an iconic image (in Mucha’s case, an attractive woman), engaging details and symbolism – to make a striking visual effect and an instant, accessible message.

“This kind of strategy is commonly used by today’s graphic artists and the marketing world, but in Mucha’s time, very few artists took such an approach.”

Sato proceeds to explain how “as an artist, Mucha wished to pursue the permanent value of art, which would not change with fashion and people’s taste. In his case, the ultimate goal was ‘Beauty’, which meant not only an aesthetic value but also the quality of the artist’s message.

He was critical about artists’ ‘selfish’ pursuit of ideas and styles purely for their own experiments’ sake. He believed an artist should be responsible for the development of society that he belonged to.

Mucha said of his work: “I prefer being a picture maker for ordinary people, rather than becoming a maker of art for art’s sake”.

Sato explains how Mucha’s masterpiece, The Slav Epic, was the fruit of his philosophy.

“Today, in this post-modern age, Mucha’s stance as an artist is refreshing. When the meaning and value of art is becoming so diverse and often the public feel lost at the type of conceptual art, which would not communicate with them, Mucha’s philosophy brings us back to the fundamental question: what is art?”

Following the Malta show, the foundation will be opening an exhibition in Taiwan entitled ‘Alphonse Mucha: Art Nouveau and Utopia’. This will be presented at the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, which they hope may then travel to Seoul in Korea.

Longer-term, they are planning exhibition tours in Japan and the US.

Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, an exhibition which opened last year to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Mucha’s birth is still touring the country. Most importantly, “the Mucha family is still trying to ensure that an appropriate home is found for Mucha’s Slav Epic in line with the artist’s wishes”.

‘Alphonse Mucha: In Quest of Beauty’ will open on Saturday and will run till May 13.