Colour printing in the late 19th century was cheaper and easier to mass-produce. This meant that the use of colour in advertisements was suddenly much more common throughout the industry, and in turn it allowed artists and designers to utilize colour more thoughtfully in their work. Combined with a desire to bring art away from the exhibitons and into daily life, bold and colourful designs began to surface in the Art Nouveau movement.
WHO WAS ALPHONSE MUCHA?
Alphonse Mucha was an Austrian designer born on July 24, 1860. He designed costumes, sets, and posters for theatre which allowed is unique approach to poster design to take Art Nouveau to the next level. His work was strongly influenced by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his paintings which subjects were often women.
HOW WAS COLOUR USED?
The invention of chromolithography allowed designers to make their work colourful and attractive to the eye. Art Nouveau used many colours found in nature because the common motifs used in the style were flowers, organic patterns, and women. The most commonly used colours were mustard yellow, dark red, olive, pink, and brown, and the warm colours created an approachable and idyllic appearance for consumers to want to buy a company’s products. The outlines of the art were often done in brown rather than a harsh black. Light shades of blue and green were often used in the background to contrast with the female figure in the foreground.
HOW DID MUCHA DIFFER FROM OTHER DESIGNERS AT THE TIME?
While other designers used bold and eye catching colours, Mucha stood out from the rest by using pastel colours instead. His work was also heavily influenced by Japanese prints, he copied the long vertical scroll formatting for many of his posters. His work is also timeless, the posters are still admired above others because of his unique pastel and idyllic designs.
Sources:
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/11506307/The-grand-designs-of-Alphonse-Mucha.html
- https://pixel77.com/art-history-modern-design-art-nouveau/
- http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-artists/alphonse-mucha.htm
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alphonse-Mucha
- https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-alphonse-muchas-iconic-posters-define-art-nouveau
- https://www.prepressure.com/printing/history/1850-1899
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Nouveau#Posters_and_graphic_art