Drink Art is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that looks at famous works of art depicting men and women enjoying life and drink.
Bieres de la Meuse
Alphonse Mucha
Czech (1860-1939)
Alphonse Mucha was an artist whose work ranged from painting theater sets to decorating the palaces of Central European royalty. While he created a variety of art nouveau paintings and even stained glass in Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral, some of Mucha's best known works are actually advertising posters.
Many of Mucha's works have common elements: pretty young women and plenty of floral motifs. In addition to beer posters, Mucha actually designed some of the first bank notes and postage stamps for Czechoslovakia when the country was granted independence as a result of World War I. A number of artists in the 1960s and 1970s picked up the Mucha style of art nouveau for advertising poster illustration.
When the Germans took control of Czechoslovakia as part of Nazi expansionism in 1939, Mucha was one of the people the Gestapo arrested. During his detention, Mucha fell ill with pneumonia and would die shortly after the Germans released the aging artist.
The Mucha Museum in Prague has a large exhibit of Mucha's work, plus details on his life. It is a good early day stop on any beer tourist's journey through the Czech capital.
1 comment:
The Mucha Museum is lovely. I'd really like to visit the Slav Epic cycle in Moravsky Krumlov. Apparently they're building a new home for it in Prague, starting next year.
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