Czech artist, Alphonse Mucha (1860 - 1939) is one of the handful of painters whose work continues to be universally recognised. His Art Nouveau portraits,
with their striking colours and elegant design, have been exhibited, not only in exhibitions of art, but in the consumer world, on chocolate tins, soap wrappers and toothpaste boxes. Like those by the French artist, Toulouse Lautrec, these charming images have been in vogue throughout the ages, becoming more at home in the home than in the art gallery.

Many would argue that it was Mucha’s embracing of the commercial (he was also a designer of jewelry and textiles) that has secured him his place in art history. I, along with many others, would disagree to some extent. Look at any of Mucha’s paintings and you will discover an incredibly skillful craftsman, whose presentation of an image is as near to perfection as it could be. Has the Autumn ever been more simply and perfectly rendered than in this painting?

Spend just half an hour in the gallery dedicated to Mucha in Prague’s Old Town Square, and those soap wrappers become obscured by images that confirm Mucha’s status as one of the art world’s most unique, and therefore distinctive artists.