What do Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and Donovan have in common?
The answer is that the design of one of their album covers incorporated elements of art nouveau that was the brainchild of Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939).
Initially one may find this connection between this great Czech painter and some of the main exponents of rock hard to understand.
But Mucha had this great gift of seeing art in everything around him. So much so that his forte was applying art to everyday things like jewellery, bank notes and packaging material.
A celebration of Mucha’s art is being showcased at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Republic Street, Valletta.
“He was a pioneer in introducing the weaker sex as an eye-catching attraction in advertising,” according to Sandro Debono, senior curator for the National Museum of Fine Arts and Presidential Palaces.
Mucha shows his female models in sensual poses. “His art was considered too risqué in Victorian Britain. In Malta, predominantly decorative elements of the style was introduced by default in architecture, interior decoration, art and advertising.
“Mucha’s works are easy to distinguish because for Mucha, anything ranging from a promotional poster to jewellery to packaging can be art. The style is inspired from nature; this gives life to all his forms and types including the use of line in his designs,” said Mr Debono.
Such elements are still evident in various houses in Sliema and in such an imposing house as Villa Roseville in Attard.
Heritage Malta, which is organising the exhibition together with the Mucha Foundation has, jointly with Midsea Books, published a catalogue called Art Nouveau and Malta: An Introduction, with contributions by Mr Debono, who is also its editor, Edward Said and Joseph Paul Cassar. The catalogue offers an intriguing insight into Art Nouveau influences on architecture, branding and art in Malta. All this apart from an extensive selection of the works on show at the exhibition.
For example, Mr Said shows how the style was incorporated in grandiose fairy tale like houses in Sliema which have now been replaced by rows of concrete apartments.
Joseph Paul Cassar traces Mucha’s trade mark touch in works by sculptor Antonio Sciortino while Mr Debono shows how the Czech artist’s flower motifs found their way into early forms of advertising and interior décor. He cites various examples including a fantastic rendition along the main staircase of Vincenzo Bugeja Technical Institute in Sta Venera.
The exposition named In Quest of Beauty: Alphonse Mucha (1860-1936) runs until May 15. The entrance ticket to the museum and exhibition costs €5.