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!!

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  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.

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    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.

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