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The Guardian Art Center in Beijing is showcasing works by Czech painter and Art Nouveau pioneer Alphonse Mucha. Our reporter Tao Yuan takes us there.

He is best remembered as the flag bearer of the “art nouveau” movement. Alphonse Mucha was born in 1860 in southern Moravia, a historical region of the Czech Republic.

He moved to Paris at an early age to pursue his artistic dreams. There, he worked for years as a rather unremarkable illustrator until Gismonda.

ZHU XINGGUO Renmin University of China School of Arts “This actress, named Sarah Bernhardt, was really a patron of Mucha’s. He designed this poster for her for the show Gismonda, and became famous overnight.”

This was a particularly urgent commission.

Mucha designed, drew, and printed this magnificent two-meter-long poster in less than a week.

ZHU XINGGUO Renmin University of China School of Arts “As a commercial artist, Mucha didn’t use excessively bright colors to catch the eye, nor did he paint the female bodies too seductive. He had discipline. So when you see his works, they are aesthetically pleasing, but also elegant in style.”

TAO YUAN Beijing “This larger-than-life poster was so radically new that when it hit the streets of Paris on January 1, 1895, it took the city by storm. It turned the French capital into an open-air gallery – a result which sat well with Mucha’s belief that art should be for everybody, and not just the wealthy elites of society.”

Mucha would continue this style in almost all of his works in this period – ornamental frames, floral patterns, curvy lines and shapes, and a mysterious, sensual woman at the center of it all.

ZHU XINGGUO Renmin University of China School of Arts “It’s art for the common people. Everything the common people like are present in his works. I think his works represent art’s capacity to inspire appreciation. As philosopher Alain De Botton said, ‘prettiness’ itself should be admired. It gives us some sort of dignity in times of despair.”

TAO YUAN Beijing “But Mucha took the greatest pride in his work as a nationalistic painter. In 1909, he returned to his home country, and began working on his magnum opus – a series of 20 spectacular paintings depicting the achievements of the Slavic people. They would eventually be known as ‘Slav Epic.'”

The works are today housed at the National Gallery of Prague. But this VR rendition of the first painting of the series offers a sense of their splendor and scale.

ZHU XINGGUO Renmin University of China School of Arts “He didn’t want to just be a commercial artist. He wanted to be a real artist. He took great pride in his Czech roots, because the Slavic people are a great people who endured many sufferings. Mucha created epic works which very few artists were capable of.”

Despite all his achievements, Mucha refused to be associated with the “art nouveau” movement.

“How can art be new?” He asked. He was striving for art that was timeless.

And 83 years after his death, his legacy lives on in modern posters, advertisements, even comics and anime.

ZHU XINGGUO Renmin University of China School of Arts “Mucha was heavily influenced by the Japanese Ukiyo-e, a style influenced by Chinese art. So, we can see, cultural confidence comes from cultural exchange. It makes us appreciate our own cultural heritage. This kind of exchange is especially important and precious amid the COVID pandemic.”

The exhibition will run at the Guardian Art Center in Beijing until the end of this week.

原文链接：[CGTN]Mucha in Beijing: Chinese capital exhibits works by Art Nouveau pioneer

（责任编辑：郑嘉珊）