Mucha began to take photographs in the early 1880s, probably in Vienna, with a borrowed camera. It was not until he had gained some recognition in Paris and sufficient funds that he purchased his first camera. Mucha’s photographic output grew dramatically after his move to a large studio in the rue du Val de Grâce in 1896. In the new studio, where he had considerably more light thanks to large windows and a glass ceiling, he photographed on a virtually daily basis.
Between 1896 and the early 1900s Mucha made a remarkable series of photographs of the models posing for him. The use of photography as an inexpensive medium for preliminary studies was common among Mucha’s Parisian contemporaries. However, Mucha’s photographs are more than just an alternative to sketches because they also capture the inimitable atmosphere of Mucha’s studio – a world of art in its own right. It was in his studio that that Mucha entertained countless Parisian artists, writers and musicians. It was also the setting for one of the earliest cinematic projections given by the Lumière brothers, whom Mucha had met in 1895, and for psychic experiments with Camille Flammarion and Albert de Rochas. In the background of the studies of models, examples of Mucha’s work may be seen, surrounded by his collection of objets d’art, books and furniture, many of which survive to this day.
The majority of Mucha’s Parisian photographs were not taken for a specific project – he preferred to improvise a number of poses in front of the camera, creating an archive of variants from which he could select what he considered most suitable for the subject of each new commission. However, some photographs were obviously directed, with his friends and models posing as characters for book illustration. Later this practice grew into a part of his experimentation with his models to express his philosophical ideas through theatrical poses and gestures.
Mucha’s theatrical approach culminated in his preparatory work for the Slav Epic canvases. Before working on each canvas Mucha produced numerous staged photographs documenting costumed models posing under his ‘theatre’ directions. From these photographs he selected appropriate images and synthesised them to create a complicated historical event on a single canvas. Although the images were intended as studies for his final paintings, Mucha’s approach to image-making has much in common with filmmaking
(source texte: muchafoundation)
Alphonse Marie Mucha. Study for a bank note 1919
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Models posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Jugenstil Prag Portraits, Prag 1910. Via auction.fr
Alphonse Marie Mucha. Photographic study 1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Study for a Decorative Panel 1908
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Alphonse Marie Mucha posing a model, Paris, c. 1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model 1908
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model reclining on the couch in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1899
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Photographic study 1899
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Photographic study 1898
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Photographic study 1897
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Etude 1897
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Berthe de Lalande, Mucha’s mistress, in Mucha’s studio, Rue du Val de Grâce, Paris 1896
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Paul Gauguin playing Mucha’s harmonium in his studio, Rue de la Grande Chaumière, Paris 1893-1894
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Paul Gauguin 1893
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Mother and child, Prague, study for the poster Russia restituenda 1922
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Maruska posing as russian peasant woman for Woman in the wilderness 1923
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Models posing as struggling figures for The introduction of the slavonic liturgy 1911-1912
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1902-1903
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Ballet study, model dancing nude in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1901
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1899-1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. L’atelier du peintre Rue du Val de Grâce, Paris 1897
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Self-portrait in his studio, Rue de la Grande Chaumière 1892
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Ballet study, model dancing nude in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1901
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha7. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio, rue du Val de Grâce 1901
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Ballet study, model dancing nude in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1901
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce 1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model posing in Mucha’s studio rue du Val de Grâce
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Untitled (Maude Adams) 1909
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model with hand pose 1908
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Untitled (Study of nude) 1910
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Untitled (study of a woman) 1918
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model for Documents Décoratifs, Paris, c. 1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Study of a model 1905
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Study for Rose
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Study for the Bosbia-Hercegovina pavillon at the World Fair 1900
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Model for Figures Decoratives 1901
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Alphonse Marie Mucha. Study for Figures Decoratives, rue du Val de Grace 1901
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