Alphonse Mucha - Legacy

Legacy

At the time when he died, Mucha's style was considered outdated. His son, author Jiří Mucha, devoted much of his life to writing about him and bringing attention to his artwork. In his own country, the new authorities were not interested in Mucha. His Slav Epic was rolled and stored for twenty-five years before being shown in Moravsky Krumlov, and a Mucha museum opened in Prague, managed by his grandson John Mucha.

Mucha's work has continued to experience periodic revivals of interest for illustrators and artists. Interest in Mucha's distinctive style experienced a strong revival during the 1960s (with a general interest in Art Nouveau) and is particularly evident in the psychedelic posters of Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, the collective name for British artists Michael English and Nigel Waymouth, and Bob Masse.

Mucha's work is a strongly acknowledged influence for Stuckist painter Paul Harvey.

The Japanese manga artist Naoko Takeuchi released a series of official posters depicting five of the main characters from her manga series Sailor Moon mimicking Mucha's style. Another manga artist, Masakazu Katsura, has also mimicked Mucha's style several times. Comic book artist and former Marvel Comics Editor in Chief Joe Quesada also borrowed from Mucha's techniques for a series of covers, posters, and prints.

The band Soilent Green used a picture by Mucha for the cover art of their album Sewn Mouth Secrets.

Mucha's work is also a visible influence on heavy metal cover artist/guitarist John Baizley.

One of Mucha's paintings, Quo Vadis or alternately Petronius and Eunice, was the subject of a legal dispute in 1986. The judgment by Richard Posner describes parts of Mucha's life and work biographically.

Among his many other accomplishments, Mucha was also the restorer of Czech Freemasonry.

On 1 January 2010, Mucha's published works went out of copyright and entered the public domain.

On 24 July 2010, Mucha was honored with a Google Doodle in memory of his 150th birthday.