Otčenáš – Mucha Alfons (2024)

The Illustrated Lord's Prayer by Alphonse Mucha is a spiritual work that, with its ornamentation, ranks among the peaks of Czech Art Nouveau. The Our Father was first published in Paris in 1899, and Mucha wished to present through it a way to reach the divine ideal, the highest state of spiritual being, through the archetypal Christian prayer. It draws from Masonic symbolism and from experiments with extrasensory perception, which he explored in the company of his friend C. Flammarion, among those interested in higher worlds. ***** On his spiritual journey, Mucha realized that the cornerstones of humanity are three virtues – beauty, truth, and love. By spreading this idea, he wanted to contribute to the elevation of human existence and ultimately to the development of humanity. The graphic sheets symbolizing the journey of man towards divinity and the accompanying text demonstrate the author's unique ability to connect the beauty of the image with a deep spiritual experience. The philosophically inclined lithographed text is adorned with ornamentation and complemented by his own calligraphy. ***** The Our Father was Mucha's first artistic and philosophical manifesto, and Mucha himself considered this work to be his best. In 1900, he exhibited the book and preparatory sketches at the World Exposition in Paris and was deeply honored when his...