International Poster Gallery

Mucha, Alphonse
Documents Decoratifs - Plate 51, 1902

This is one of 72 plates from Mucha's Documents Decoratifs, a masterful encyclopedia of Art Nouveau decoration printed in 1902 in Paris. The plates include finished designs for furniture and house wares, studies of natural objects, and abstract musings; they were meant to serve as a handbook for turn-of-the-century artists and craftsmen both as inspiration and as workable designs. Today, the Documents Decoratifs survive as an important Art Nouveau resource and attest to the artistic and creative genius of Mucha.