The Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester is pleased to present the exhibition Alphonse Mucha: Master of Art Nouveau, on view from October 13, 2019–January 19, 2020. Mucha (1860–1939) was the most prominent artist of the decorative style known as French Art Nouveau. His portrayals of elegant women and elaborate use of color and ornament shaped the aesthetics of the era. His innovative designs
remain globally influential.
Alphonse Mucha: Master of Art Nouveau presents over 70 works that range from rare original lithographs, drawings, and books to portfolios and ephemera. Due in part to the highly advanced reproduction techniques of his time, Mucha’s work reached an extremely broad public and attained enormous popularity. His compositions were so alluring that they became known as the “Style Mucha,” and embodied much of the artistic decorative endeavors around the turn of the 20th century.
This traveling exhibition was originally curated by Dr. Gabriel Weisberg, Professor of Art History at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. It is accompanied by an exhibition catalogue that includes an essay by Weisberg and essays, texts, and photographs from the Mucha Foundation.
“Mucha’s ability to understand the major creative themes of the day, to use them in the most original ways possible, and to create works of art that remain seductive for future generations, is truly his great triumph,” writes Weisberg. The exhibition objects are drawn from the extensive Dhawan Collection, one of the largest and finest collections of Alphonse Mucha’s work in the United States. The accompanying catalogue provides an original way of seeing one of the most prolific creators of fin-de-siècle imagery as well as additional context through which to view his work. At MAG, the exhibition is supplemented by additional loans from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and a private collector. According to Nancy Norwood, MAG’s curator of European art, “MAG’s Mucha exhibition and its related programming are a wonderful opportunity for the Rochester community to explore the beautiful and complex work of this artist, who continually sought to remove the boundaries between “high” and “low” art.”
Exhibition and museum tour organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA. Presented by Dr. Dawn F. Lipson, with additional support from Allen C. and Joyce Boucher, the Elaine P. and Richard U.
Wilson Foundation, and Janet S. Reed.
Funding is also provided by Walter B. D. Hickey, Jr., the Gallery Council of the Memorial Art Gallery, the Gouvernet Arts Fund at the Rochester Area Community Foundation, the Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull Fund, Marcia Lowry, Gary and Karen Neems, and Joanne Hume-Nigro and Ron Nigro.