Biography

Born on July 24 in Ivančice, South Moravia.

He leaves for Vienna to work as a theater set painter, while also attending evening drawing classes.

Invited by Count Khuen-Belasi to create decorations for Emmahof Castle.

Thanks to financial support from Khuen-Belasi, he begins his studies at the Munich Academy of Arts.

With the continued support of Count Khuen-Belasi, he goes to Paris to study at the Académie Julian.

In January 1889, the count unexpectedly stopped supporting him. Mucha left school and began to make a living as an illustrator. His work was published in Czech magazines, and after 1890 he began to collaborate with various Parisian magazines and publishers.

Commissioned with an important order to illustrate Scènes et épisodes de l'histoire d'Allemagne (Scenes and Stories from the History of Germany) by Charles Seignobos.

He designs his first poster commissioned by Sarah Bernhardt, in the role of Gismonda, in a drama by Victor Sardou. The poster is an immediate sensational success and Mucha signs a six-year contract with "The Divine Sarah".

Mucha's first decorative panel, The Four Seasons, is printed.

In February Mucha's first solo exhibition opens at the Bodinière Gallery in Paris, with 107 works on display, followed in May by an exhibition at the Salon des Cent with 448 works. A selection from this exhibition was also on display at the Topič Salon in Prague.

He accepts the mandate of the Austro-Hungarian government to participate in the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900.

He begins work on the interior and facade design of the famous Fouquet's jewelry store on Rue Royale in Paris.

Documents décoratifs, a sample book of decorative motifs and a guide for artists, is published.

In Paris, he met his future wife, Marie Chytilová, and in Prague, he designed a set for Smetana's opera Libuše for the National Theatre.

Mucha leaves for America, where he teaches and at the same time paints a number of portraits and advertising commissions. He remains active in the USA until 1910.

He returns to Bohemia and rents premises at Zbiroh Castle to work on The Slav Epic. He also lives in the east wing of the castle with his family.

He completes the decoration of the Mayor's Salon of the Prague Municipal House, as the last great work of art in the Art Nouveau style in Prague.

He designs postage stamps and banknotes for the newly formed Czechoslovak state.

A hugely popular exhibition of Mucha's works is underway at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

Mucha and his family move to a villa in Bubeneč, Prague. 21.9. The complete cycle The Slav Epic is officially presented to the Czech people and the city of Prague.

He designs a colorful stained glass window for Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral.

After the German invasion of Czechoslovakia, Mucha was among the first people arrested by the Gestapo for his Masonic activities. He was allowed to return home, but his health deteriorated rapidly and he died in Prague on July 14, 1939. Mucha was buried in the Vyšehrad cemetery. The Parisian graphic magazine Arts et métiers published an issue dedicated to Mucha's memory.