Translation: Jon Alkorta Martiartu, PhD (UPV/EHU)

The secrets of Alphonse Mucha, the father of Art Nouveau

 Alphonse Mucha is an artist known as the great figurehead of Art Nouveau in Paris at the turn of the century. But what is not so well known is his Masonic affiliation, his probable knowledge of occultism and his vindication of the Slavic gods. This week we take a closer look at this artistic figure who fascinates me so much and who hides so much if he is not studied in depth.

Success in Paris

Alphonse Mucha was born in 1860 in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic, but at that time under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He had come to Paris in 1887 to learn graphic arts and was soon to find success in his work. By chance, a poster designer fell ill and Mucha was commissioned to design a poster for the play Gismonda, starring the muse of the time, Sarah Bernhardt, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in 1895. Such was the success of the poster and such was the impression it made on the diva that Alphonse Mucha became her go-to artist, designing not only her posters but also sets and jewellery to suit Bernhardt’s taste.

From then on, his career was meteoric and he designed numerous posters and advertisements consolidating his style, which was the genesis of what we know today as Art Nouveau.

The 1900 Paris exhibition

Alphonse Mucha. The Allegory of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The most important events of the time were the universal exhibitions. Nations brought the best of their creators and their scientific advances to demonstrate their support for artistic and technological development.

Then came the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900, where Mucha contributed to two stands: the Austrian and the Bosnian-Herzegovinian.

It is worth mentioning this second collaboration, because this Slavic country paid for Mucha to travel through its lands, and it was here that our man discovered the history of the Slavic people and became aware that his roots lied in this culture.

From this point onwards we can see Alphonse Mucha’s nationalist side, which will start appearing in his art. Not only that, but he became an activist for the Czech cause and, with his brushes and influence, fought against the Austrians.

If you want to know more about Mucha and the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1900:

Tienda – Jot Down Cultural Magazine – París 1900 — www.jotdown.es París 1900 is a collection of eight essays that tells us about different cultural manifestations relevant to the City of Light in the period between 1880 and 1920. This short period of time saw the birth of novelties such as the cinema, the birth of Art Nouveau, the works of Auguste Rodin and the Universal Exhibition.

A Masonic “Lord’s Prayer”

Drawing of Le Pater. 1899. 

One of the lesser-noticed aspects of Mucha’s life is his Masonic affiliation. He entered this world in the Paris Lodge but over the years became Grand Master of the Lodge of Czechoslovakia.

In his early days he was commissioned to design a book with the “Lord’s Prayer”, a prayer which, by the way, plays a decisive role in Freemasonry.

Mucha designed three plates for each verse of the prayer: a modernist design full of symbolism, a symbolist drawing in which, far from depicting Jesus or the cross, only female or androgynous figures appear, plus a plate with the decorative text for each paragraph.

This is undoubtedly a work in which Masonic and occult elements are mixed in equal measure. It is a great treasure of bibliophilia.

Svantovit

Alphonse Mucha. The god Stantovit, a sketch.

Looking at Mucha’s works of art in relation to the Slavic world we realise that pagan elements often appear in them. Such is the case of the god Svantovit, a multi-headed idol worshipped by these peoples from the Baltic to the Czech lands.

The curious thing about this god is that he resembles the Catholic Trinity represented as a head with three faces (the trifacial Trinity), which until the Council of Trent was permitted and then banned and destroyed. Thus, it could be that Mucha united the Catholic faith of his childhood with the paganism of his maturity.

But we must mention Alphonse Mucha’s great nationalist feat: the Slav Epic, which took him many years to complete and for which he had to raise funds in countries such as the United States. It is a set of twenty unique monumental canvases that review the history of the Slavic people from paganism (one is dedicated to Svantovit) to Christianisation, with Saints Cyril and Methodius.

The “Mucha style” in Madrid

Alphonse Mucha. Poster for Echeandía perfumery. 

 Yes, the influence of Mucha and his Art Nouveau also arrived in Madrid. Here you can see the poster he designed for the Echeandía perfumery in the capital. Other Madrid artists such as Eulogio Varela followed his techniques to produce many posters.

But we can also find “Mucha style” decoration in the Casino in Madrid or in a shop called La Vaquería.

If you want to know more about Mucha’s traces in Madrid, and about Art Nouveau in places like the Almudena cemetery, you will find it all in my book Crónicas del Madrid secreto.

If you still want more, here is my article on the heterodox Mucha that I wrote for issue 3 of Herejía y Belleza magazine.

(PDF) Ocultismo, paganismo y masonería: sincretismo en la obra de Alphonse Mucha | Pedro Ortega Ventureira – Academia.edu “Occultism, Paganism and Freemasonry: Syncretism in the Work of Alphonse Mucha”.

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