The luxurious theatricality of Central European Baroque with its lush curvilinear and nature-inspired decoration undoubtedly coloured his imagination and inspired a taste for “smells and bells” and religious paraphernalia that remained with him throughout his life. At the height of his fame, his studio was described as being like a “secular chapel… screens placed here and there, that could well be confessionals; and then incense burning all the time. It’s more like the chapel of an oriental monk than a studio.” While earning a living as a clerk, Mucha continued to indulge his love of drawing and in 1877 he gathered together his self-taught body of work and attempted unsuccessfully to enter the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague.

      Spring (from the Seasons series)

      1896

      Colour lithograph, 28 × 15 cm.

      Mucha Museum, Prague.

      Summer (from the Seasons series)

      1896

      Colour lithograph, 28 × 15 cm.

      Mucha Museum, Prague.

      After two more years of drudgery as a civil servant, he lost his job, according to Jiri Mucha, because he drew the portraits of a picturesque family of gypsies instead of taking down their particulars. In 1879 he spotted an advertisement in a Viennese newspaper for the firm of Kautsky-Brioschi-Burghardt, makers of theatrical scenery who were looking for designers and craftsmen.

      Autumn (from the Seasons series)

      1896

      Colour lithograph, 28 × 15 cm.

      Mucha Museum, Prague.

      Mucha sent off examples of his work and this time he was successful and received an offer for a job.

      As a country boy who had been no further than the picturesque (but still provincial) Prague, Vienna in 1879 must have looked awesomely grand.

      Winter (from the Seasons series)

      1896

      Colour lithograph, 28 × 15 cm.

      Mucha Museum, Prague.

      It had recently undergone what was, after Haussmann’s Paris, the most impressive scheme of urban renewal of the nineteenth century. Each of the great public buildings lining the Ringstrasse, which replaced the old ramparts that had encircled the medieval town centre, was built in a historical style, deemed appropriate to its purpose.

      Study for Zodiac

      1896

      Pencil, ink and watercolour on paper, 67 × 48 cm.

      Mucha Museum, Prague.

      The result was a grandiose architectural fancy-dress ball. The Art Nouveau style, of which Mucha would later become one of the most famous representatives, reacted directly against this kind of pompous wedding cake historicism. For the moment though, Mucha was deeply influenced by the showy and decorative art of Hans Mackart, the most successful Viennese painter of the Ringstrasse period.

      Zodiac

      1896

      Colour lithograph, 67 × 48 cm.

      Mucha Museum, Prague.

      After barely two years, Mucha’s Viennese sojourn came to an abrupt end. On December 10th, 1881, the Ringtheater burnt down. In a century punctuated by terrible theatre fires, this was one of the worst, claiming the lives of over five hundred members of the audience. The Ringtheater was also one of the principal clients of the firm of Kautsky-Brioschi-Burghardt and in the aftermath of the disaster, Mucha lost his job.

      Flower

      1897

      Colour lithograph, 66 × 44 cm.

      Mucha Museum, Prague.

      Mucha moved to the small town of Mikulov and fell back upon the time-honoured artistic tradition of making ends meet: making portraits of local dignitaries. His unusual way of attracting a clientele is related in his memoirs. He booked a room at the “Lion Hotel” and managed to sell a drawing of some local ruins to a dealer called Thiery who displayed it in his shop window and quickly sold it on.

      Fruit

      1897

      Colour lithograph, 66 × 44 cm.

      Mucha Museum, Prague.

      So I got busy drawing again, not ruins this time, but the people around me. I painted the head of a pretty woman and brought it to Thiery. He put it into the window and I began to look forward to the cash. When there was no news from Thiery for two and even three days, I went to ask him myself. The good man wasn’t pleased to see me. Mikulov society was filled with indignation, and my picture had to be taken out of the window.

      Vin des Incas

      1897–1899

      Colour lithograph, 13.6 × 36 cm.

      Mucha Trust.

      The young lady I had painted was the wife of the local doctor, and Thiery had put a notice next to the portrait saying, ‘For five florins at the Lion Hotel’. The scandal was duly explained and in the end worked out to my advantage. The whole town knew that a painter had come to live at the Lion. In the course of time, I painted the whole neighbourhood – all the uncles and aunts of Mikulov.

      Monaco – Monte-Carlo

      1897

      Colour lithograph, 110 × 76 cm.

      Mucha Museum, Prague.

      It was while he was living in Mikulov that Mucha encountered the first of the two patrons who were to transform his career. One was a wealthy

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