"Eternally New: The Art Nouveau World of Alphonse Mucha"

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Stills from immersive film, courtesy of Grand Palais Immersif, inspired by Alphonse Mucha, © Mucha Trust, courtesy of the Mucha Foundation

Seductive. Compelling. Beautiful. Enduring.

The Taubman Museum of Art is pleased to present the work of Alphonse Mucha, the groundbreaking artist who originated Art Nouveau, in the new special ticketed exhibition Eternally New: The Art Nouveau World of Alphonse Mucha.

The exhibition features nearly 50 original posters, books, lithographs, sculptures, and other decorative items on loan from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, with additional period pieces from other regional collections, including a penny-farthing bicycle, couture dresses, and jewelry.

Art Nouveau, or “new art,” is an international style of art and architecture that exploded in Paris at the turn of the 20th-century as Czech-born Mucha rose to prominence. His work came to define the look of the fin-de-siècle: soft pastels, sinuous floral patterns, and elegant yet bohemian women such as the internationally renowned French actress Sarah Bernhardt – in short, the essence of Belle Époque.

Mucha’s work transcends this period, however, with his impact felt throughout the decades in works ranging from the Grateful Dead’s concert posters and the “Flower Power” movement of the 1960’s to manga comics, street artists, and even tattoo art today.Several of these latter-day artists will be included through videos and large-scale images, highlighting how Mucha’s work influenced their own.

Bringing Mucha’s Art Nouveau world to life in a deeply engaging way is an accompanying Immersive Art Experience from the Grand Palais in Paris. The Taubman Museum of Art is the first museum outside of Europe to showcase the Immersive, kicking off an American tour.

Featuring sight, sound, smell, and touch, the Immersive walks visitors through the story of Mucha and his humanist ambition in three acts: as a master of advertising in Paris; at a turning point in his career in 1900, which he was heavily involved in the Exposition Universelle in Paris; and through the presentation of his monumental works, namely the Slav Epic, which develops a vision of Slav history as a pacifist model for the world that resonates today more than ever.

The exhibition Eternally New: The Art Nouveau World of Alphonse Mucha is organized by the Taubman Museum of Art with works from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The immersive experience is organized by the Grand Palais Immersif and Mucha Foundation. TechnicoFlor is responsible for the creation of the olfactory experience.