Mucha Lithograph, Four Seasons, Winter

    1896 is the year Alphonse Mucha created a series of four lithographs titled: Four Seasons 
The one for today is Winter.
  It is the height of the design movement titled Art Nouveau, and Mucha is a master of the style.  Here we see a lovely woman out in the snow draped in a form fitting soft green fabric.  She has cupped a bird in her palms, lovingly bringing it to her mouth, where we can assume she is warming it with her breath.
Such a beautiful image, and such a warm, wonderful sentiment.
   So let us examine the composition.  Here again the work is based on a complimentary color harmony: soft pink/reds, and soft blue/greens.  She is standing in the midst of a snarly tree done in light grey and white which contrasts with the softness and sensuous quality of the draped fabric. Warming the format in the far background, is a pink swirl of color framing the upper portion. The figure pops because of the contrast of color and because Mucha has completely outlined her with a reasonably broad earthy green.
   The focal point is clearly the face, hands and three other birds.  Mucha has executed them with precision and rich color, framing the face with the hood cover of the drape. 
   I hope you have enjoyed looking at this beautiful image with me today.   Tell me your thoughts!  I want to read what you think.
   Make Art a part of your day, it's a beautiful thing to do. 

Comments

  1. charguthMay 6, 2019 at 5:54 PM

    I am beginning to appreciate Art Nouveau more, as I see and understand it . The design seems to give it a firmness, but yet it is delicate. It has a feminine softness and allure. It may be winter but it doesn't seem cold. She almost appears to float on the pick swirls. I like it!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JudithMarie5May 9, 2019 at 3:10 PM

    You enlarged the Wednesday group's appreciation of Art Nouveau, Pat. This is quite a delicate rendition. It is also quite a feminine image along with the choice of paints.

    My first in-the-flesh Mucha came during a trip with son Jay to Prague. We visited St. Vitas Church in 1991 and were awed by the enormous stained glass window designed by Mucha and installed in the north nave in 1931. Although busy and cut into sections by the necessary braces of any large-wall window, the beauty and the color mastery shows through.

    Thank you for bringing this wonderful travel memory back to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Art Expert On LineMay 30, 2019 at 7:32 AM

      Always a pleasure. Prague is on my bucket list and would love to visit this church as Mucha is always delightful. Often we need to be reminded how beautiful our world is and the wonderful things people have created to enhance it.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wayne Thiebaud, Sunset Streets

Image
   In giving title to this landscape, California artist, Wayne Thiebaud not only provides the location, but also the time of day.  Knowing that Thiebaud is a California artist provides the last clue to guessing the probably location.  Smartly, The San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art purchased this painting for its permanent collection in 1986, a year after it was completed.  Sunset Streets is an oil on canvas measuring 48" x 35".      Wayne Thiebaud was born in 1920 and resides in California. He is one of several artists creating a distinct California aesthetic using heavy pigment and exaggerated color.   He is best known for his commonplace objects, figures, and landscapes. of which this is a perfect example.    The composition of this work is amazing.  Right down the center, at a slight tilt is this blue-black stripe, K shape, beginning with a heavy base and capped with a large triangle of sorts.  The painting is...
Read more

Jimmy Baker, "Double Tillman"

Image
   It has been a while since we have looked at a contemporary artist and new work, and this particular image by Jimmy Baker is somewhat different from others of his.   At first glance our painting for this week appears to be a landscape, maybe a setting or rising sun.  Our attention is drawn to the circle just slightly above middle center, and the arches above and swirls of color high light it.  Look at the lower half, the earth.  The light has highlighted rocks or wood chips, but we are unable to distinguish more.   I think this painting allows us to determine for ourselves what to make of it.   Is this a dying earth, or one recovering from tragedy?         Jimmy Baker (1980-) is from Ohio.  He was born here, received his education in Ohio, and is presently and associate professor at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.  His work has achieved critical acclaim with solo exhibitions in Europe and across t...
Read more

Childe Hassam "The Avenue in Rain"

Image
    I probably should have saved this for the 4th of July, but that is a little far off and this work is among Childe Hassam's finest.      I have known of Childe Hassam (1859 - 1935) for a very long time, but only recently did Wikimedia straighten me out about the correct way to pronounce his first name.  It seems the "e" is silent; and his last name is pronounced as written, with two syllables.        From what I have read, Hassam was a pretty sharp guy, and possibly a little  arrogant.  He created 3,000 some works of art in his career and lived his entire adult life on the proceeds of their sale.  This is quite remarkable.  Most artists, (at least before 1930) had to supplement their income by teaching, commissioned portraits or careers outside the art field.  But Hassam figured out not only how to market his work, but also what subjects would be popular.  Timing is always a big issue, and he wa...
Read more