Art Nouveau Arrives in Florence. The Museo degli Innocenti Hosts an Exhibition Dedicated to Alphonse Mucha

The Museo degli Innocenti will host the first exhibition in Florence dedicated to Alphonse Mucha, the most important Czech artist, father of Art Nouveau and creator of iconic images. From 27 October to 7 April 2024, more than 170 works - posters, books, drawings, oil paintings, watercolours, photographs, jewels and decorations - will take visitors into the eclecticism of Alphonse Mucha, the most famous and coveted artist of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

The exhibition's itinerary, divided into six sections, offers a thematic and chronological journey through Mucha's art, as well as a reflection on his talent and the great research and reflection work that accompanied the evolution of his work. His illustrations, theatre posters and nascent advertising gave rise to a new form of communication and the famous “Mucha style”. The Czech artist believed that art should not just be pleasing to the eye: it had to communicate a spiritual message, elevate viewers and above all speak to everybody.

His genius masterfully combined the beauty of art with a profound social commitment: many of his works, in fact, reflect the importance of women in society and promote gender equality with an unprecedented modernity. A reflection that ties in perfectly with the history and mission of the Istituto degli Innocenti in Florence which for centuries has distinguished itself in combining the beauty of art with a fervent social commitment in favour of children and women as mothers and crucial figures in caring and nurturing children. The Museo degli Innocenti therefore is the perfect place to host this exhibition which, by highlighting the modernity with which Mucha's art proposes a new vision of women at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, also highlights the “modernity” of the care practices towards children that the Istituto degli Innocenti adopted at that time. The exhibition therefore not only celebrates Alphonse Mucha's artistic legacy, but also offers an exciting look at the intrinsic links between his avant-garde vision and the contemporary care practices of the Istituto degli Innocenti during a crucial period of changing perceptions of the social role of women.

The exhibition route at the Museo degli Innocenti

The first section of the exhibition is dedicated to the women, the heart of Mucha's art. Recognisable, eye-catching and affordable, the Czech artist's advertising posters define the “Mucha style” whose recurring characteristics would become key elements of Art Nouveau. The exhibition shows that, for his portrayal of the modern woman, Mucha drew inspiration from Renaissance art, an artistic tradition that has found a noble custodian in the Istituto degli Innocenti, thanks to the work of Botticelli.

Another section of the exhibition is dedicated to Breton culture and the years the artist spent in France. Mucha’s travels in Brittany during this period are documented by his numerous sketches and photographs of the local landscapes and culture, and, in particular, of the different decorative styles and costumes typical of the region. The folkloristic Breton images are iconic subjects for many other painters, including Paul Gauguin, with whom Mucha formed a deep bond. Among the true icons of Art Nouveau are advertising posters, to which an entire section of the exhibition is dedicated. Over a period of twenty years, Mucha designed and produced around one hundred and twenty posters, becoming the leading representative of poster design and the most sought-after and copied graphic artist in turn-of-the-century Paris. No matter what it is, the advertised object takes a back seat as the protagonist is always an idealised and elegant maiden. The exhibition also focuses on the Slav Epic, a monumental masterpiece by Mucha with a messianic message inviting the Slavs to learn from history in order to progress towards the future and freedom. During the same years, he worked on other public projects, including the interior decoration of Prague City Hall, the design of a stained-glass window for Prague's St Vitus Cathedral and posters for the Slavic gymnastics rallies of the Sokol movement. The fifth section of the exhibition is a homage to the “Mucha style”. Drawings, decorative prints, etc. will be shown in a multitude of forms, such as calendars, postcards and even gifts, and reproduced in many art magazines both in France and abroad. His style, which became very fashionable, was to influence the entire Paris International Exhibition of 1900. The Istituto degli Innocenti also participated in that event, thanks to a photographic campaign entrusted to Studio Brogi which won the Jury's Grand Prix and the gold medal for the Institute as Europe’s best foundling institution. To complement the exhibition, there is a section dedicated to the development of the new artistic language in Italy: a tribute to the Florentine Galileo Chini, one of the protagonists of Art Nouveau in Italy.

Venue

Museo degli Innocenti Piazza della SS. Annunziata,13 50121 Florence

Dates for the public

27/10/2023– 07/04/2024

Opening hours

Daily from 9.30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The ticket office closes one hour earlier

Tickets

Exhibition + Museo degli Innocenti Full € 16,00 (audioguide included) Reduced € 14,00 (audio-guide included)

Information and booking

Tel.: + 39 055 0981881

Didactic information

didattica@arthemisia.it