HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALPHONSE MUCHA

"Art exists only to communicate a spiritual message."--Alphonse Mucha

Today is the 156th anniversary of Alphonse Mucha's birth!  I'm celebrating by revisiting one of my favorite posts from 2013, where I dressed in my best Mucha-inspired ensemble and frolicked through the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.  See the full post here.

MUCHA, REVISITED

Now that it is becoming a bit more like spring in New York, I'm revisiting one of my favorite posts from last spring.  Inspired by Pantone's Champagne Beige, I evoked the image of Alphonse Mucha's muses at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.  View the full post here.

ARTFULLY AWEAR + PANTONE: Champagne Beige.

For my latest Artfully Awear + Pantone post, I'm featuring the shimmery color Champagne Beige.

My inspiration for this look has been on my mind for years, as I've always loved the sinewy Art Nouveau elegance of Alphonse Mucha's ladies.

Mucha (1860-1939) was a Czech painter and decorative artist who created the Art Nouveau style, originally known as Mucha Style.

He began his career as a theatrical designer in Moravia, and eventually relocated to Paris, where he met the acclaimed actress Sarah Bernhardt, one of my style icons.

In 1895, Mucha began a six-year contract with Bernhardt, creating lithographs for her performances.  This solidified his position as an important commercial artist.

Throughout his career, Mucha struggled to separate himself from the Art Nouveau style he essentially created, and found art's importance through its spiritual connotations alone.

The women depicted in Mucha's Art Nouveau paintings and prints hearken back to an even earlier age, referenced in their Neoclassical garments.

Mucha's view on Art History is summed up by the following quote, and beautifully represented by his work: "Nothing has changed in these past two thousand years.  Only the names are slightly different."

Dress: Nicole Miller Artelier

Headpiece: Vintage necklace

Shoes: B Brian Atwood (buy here in nude and black)

All photos by Kathy Paciello at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

[Mucha images from gelaskins.com, wikipaintings.org, graduate-extraordinaire.blogspot.com, bohemia-apartments.com, and commons.wikimedia.org.]

COGNAC BISQUIT

Now that the sun sets shortly after five o'clock, and the last of the leaves have begun to fall, I'm fully embracing the colors of the landscape. I love the warm, rich hues of late fall, and the hint of winter on the horizon.

The color cognac, represented by my sweater and boots and the surrounding landscape, is named after the red-brown hue of French brandy. The rich shade of cognac in an autumn vista always brings to mind the work of Czech artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939).

Interestingly enough, not only does Mucha use the color of cognac as a signature in his work, he created a poster for Cognac Bisquit brandy, which is one of his most well-known prints.

Widely regarded as the earliest and most famous proponent of Art Nouveau, Mucha's prints and posters are characteristic of the prevailing artistic style of the Victorian period.

The stylized print and neoclassical drama of these images reflect the Art Nouveau idea of overly ornate work with a focus on the expertise of the artist.

Although Mucha's work was considered passé at the time of his death, it has been cemented in the history of art as the greatest example of the Art Nouveau style.

I can't help but see Mucha's palette and romantic sensibility in the late fall landscape.

I'm wearing a vintage cardigan and skirt, Sally Tseng cutout henley, Betsey Johnson tights, Sam Edelman boots, and an H&M Fashion Against AIDS necklace.

[Mucha images from illusionsgallery.com, abcgallery.com, dailyartfixx.com, and backtogether.org, respectively.]