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The Art Nouveau Style Book of Alphonse Mucha: All 72 Plates From "Documents Décoratifs" In Original Color
To the general public, Alphonse Maria Mucha (1860–1939) is perhaps best known for his posters of Sarah Bernhardt and magnificent decorative panels such as "The Seasons" — works that continue to grow in popularity and value as the resurgence of interest in Art Nouveau increases. Among graphic artists and commercial designers, Mucha is praised for the innovative style books that pioneered the use of Art Nouveau in commercial packaging, design, and ornament.
The most important of these style books was Documents Décoratifs, published in 1901 at the height of Mucha's fame as the high priest of the Art Nouveau movement. While the artist's fame rests largely on his posters, it is in the smaller works of the style books, or design portfolios, that the refinement of his technique can best be appreciated. The present volume, carefully reproduced from an extremely rare and valuable set of originals, contains all 72 plates of the Documents Décoratifs portfolio. Included are designs for jewelry, wallpaper, stained glass, furniture, and tableware; figure and botanical studies; and a selection of Mucha's famous panneaux décoratifs. Eighteen of the plates are in full color, while the remaining 54 are reproduced in two or more color tones.
In addition to numerous innovative designs for practical and decorative objects, the elegant draftsmanship and meticulous execution that characterized all of Mucha's work is evident in studies of langorous nudes, portrait sketches, delicately rendered plant and animal motifs, exquisite modeling of drapery and cloth, and the flowing, fantastic forms created as experiments in pure design. In the Foreword by Gabriel Mourey, specially translated for this edition, Mucha's own philosophy of art, and the relation of the Documents to the rest of his work, receive an appreciative and informative discussion.
Hitherto available only in scattered sources, or in the libraries of wealthy collectors, the complete Documents Décoratifs is now available in this inexpensive one-volume edition. Lovers of Mucha's work, admirers of Art Nouveau, and the application of that style to the decorative arts, will want to own this fine royalty-free collection by one of the greatest masters of the technique.
"[ Documents Décoratifs is] . . . an encyclopedic source for Mucha's style in every branch of decorative and applied art and one of the few books on design where even individual plates are sought after by collectors." — Marina Henderson, The Graphic Style of Alphonse Mucha
The most important of these style books was Documents Décoratifs, published in 1901 at the height of Mucha's fame as the high priest of the Art Nouveau movement. While the artist's fame rests largely on his posters, it is in the smaller works of the style books, or design portfolios, that the refinement of his technique can best be appreciated. The present volume, carefully reproduced from an extremely rare and valuable set of originals, contains all 72 plates of the Documents Décoratifs portfolio. Included are designs for jewelry, wallpaper, stained glass, furniture, and tableware; figure and botanical studies; and a selection of Mucha's famous panneaux décoratifs. Eighteen of the plates are in full color, while the remaining 54 are reproduced in two or more color tones.
In addition to numerous innovative designs for practical and decorative objects, the elegant draftsmanship and meticulous execution that characterized all of Mucha's work is evident in studies of langorous nudes, portrait sketches, delicately rendered plant and animal motifs, exquisite modeling of drapery and cloth, and the flowing, fantastic forms created as experiments in pure design. In the Foreword by Gabriel Mourey, specially translated for this edition, Mucha's own philosophy of art, and the relation of the Documents to the rest of his work, receive an appreciative and informative discussion.
Hitherto available only in scattered sources, or in the libraries of wealthy collectors, the complete Documents Décoratifs is now available in this inexpensive one-volume edition. Lovers of Mucha's work, admirers of Art Nouveau, and the application of that style to the decorative arts, will want to own this fine royalty-free collection by one of the greatest masters of the technique.
"[ Documents Décoratifs is] . . . an encyclopedic source for Mucha's style in every branch of decorative and applied art and one of the few books on design where even individual plates are sought after by collectors." — Marina Henderson, The Graphic Style of Alphonse Mucha
- GenresArtNonfictionReference
80 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1902
About the author
Alphonse Mucha
97 books20 followersAlfons Maria Mucha, 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his distinctly stylized and decorative theatrical posters of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels and designs which became among the best-known images of the period.
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October 13, 2021A master.
September 26, 2024
A reprint of his 'Documents Décoratifs', under a different name.
July 27, 2025
(Alphonse Mucha Art - Alphonse Mucha) Z lib
Wow, my favourite book 🥰🥰🥰
Wow, my favourite book 🥰🥰🥰
December 31, 2025
This book contains a printed version of what is available for free at Wikipedia. An extra foreword is inlcuded which raves about Mucha. Honestly, I expected more from it.
July 14, 2024
Mucha’s Sketchbook 3.5 Stars
As always, Mucha’s work is amazing, in my opinion, and this is a decent collection of ideas and studies that help me in the study of his style. I did have the privilege of seeing the original of this book in the Mucha museum in Prague and thus opted to purchase this copy.
If you are looking for a book that will explain the style to you, this is not it. It is just a collection of his work which you will have to study on your own.
I wish the quality of this book was better. Whoever scanned the originals could have spent some time playing around with Levels and cleaning up the images to bring out the artwork closer to what it would have been upon first publication. I find it difficult to look at the artwork due to lack of contrast. It helps if you change the background setting of the Kindle book to black.
The resolution of the images is also rather low, so if you wish to zoom in to study a particular knot or line, you may be disappointed.
As always, Mucha’s work is amazing, in my opinion, and this is a decent collection of ideas and studies that help me in the study of his style. I did have the privilege of seeing the original of this book in the Mucha museum in Prague and thus opted to purchase this copy.
If you are looking for a book that will explain the style to you, this is not it. It is just a collection of his work which you will have to study on your own.
I wish the quality of this book was better. Whoever scanned the originals could have spent some time playing around with Levels and cleaning up the images to bring out the artwork closer to what it would have been upon first publication. I find it difficult to look at the artwork due to lack of contrast. It helps if you change the background setting of the Kindle book to black.
The resolution of the images is also rather low, so if you wish to zoom in to study a particular knot or line, you may be disappointed.
August 13, 2016
Amo Mucha alla follia e quando ho visto le meravigliose tavole raccolte in questo libro, copia del suo testo originale, in occasione dell'esposizione di Milano, non ho resistito, almeno questo piccolo catalogo doveva essere mio, mi sono accontentata sperando sempre di poter possedere un giorno una sua opera originale <3
August 31, 2008
Un tesoro de la Biblioteca Zarzuela.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews