Preliminary Study for the Figure of Slavia
Artist
Alphonse Mucha
(Czech, 1860-1939)
CultureCzech
Date1925
MediumColored pencil | Graphite | Paper
DimensionsOverall, Image: 13 × 18 3/8 in. (33 × 46.7 cm)
Overall, Mat: 17 7/8 × 23 in. (45.4 × 58.4 cm)
Overall, Frame: 19 5/8 × 24 5/8 × 1 5/8 in. (49.8 × 62.5 × 4.1 cm)
Overall, Mat: 17 7/8 × 23 in. (45.4 × 58.4 cm)
Overall, Frame: 19 5/8 × 24 5/8 × 1 5/8 in. (49.8 × 62.5 × 4.1 cm)
InscribedSigned and dated: "'36".
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.2646
Not on view
DescriptionDrawing done in colored pencils, heightened with white.Label TextAlphonse Mucha Czech (1860-1939) Preliminary Study for the Figure of Slavia, 1925 Graphite, heightened with colored pencils and white lead on tan paper Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2646 After achieving great success in Paris for his posters in the Art Nouveau style, in 1910 Alphonse Mucha returned to his native Czechoslovakia. In the years that followed he worked on a series of Czech history paintings depicting The Slav Epic and designed posters for Czech festivals and events, among them a poster for the Pageant on the Vltava River. Held in Prague in 1926, the pageant included traditional athletic events and elaborate re-enactments of battles and other historic episodes from Czech history. The drawing here is a preliminary sketch for the figure of Slavia, female personification of Slavic brotherhood, who appears at the top of Mucha's poster for the Pageant on the Vltava River (see illustration on gallery label). Transfixing the viewer with her hypnotic gaze, the ideal embodiment of the Slavic spirit stretches out her arms to bless and protect a young athlete and patriot, who represent both the pageant's festivities and, in a larger sense, the vitality and fraternity of the Czech people. Edited By: DS Edited Date: 08/2005 Approved By: MHM Approval Date: 10/13/2005Exhibition History"Venus and Adonis: Aspects of the Figurative Ideal in 19th- and 20th-Century Art," The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., July 13 - November 3, 1996. "Behind the Seen: The Chrysler's Hidden Museum," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., October 21, 2005 - February 19, 2006.
