At the time of Alphonse Mucha’s birth in present day Czech Republic, the struggle for independence from the Hapsburg Empire was reaching a boiling point. The people in this region had a strong nationalist consciousness and were fighting for greater political and cultural freedom. The heavily political atmosphere in which Mucha grew up continued to influence his work throughout his career. Even after moving to Paris in the 1880s to study, Mucha rooted his artistic practices in the decorative traditions of his home, and used art as a vehicle to express his devotion to these traditions and beliefs while also incorporating Byzantine and Celtic motifs into his designs.
Mucha is most readily associated with the Art Nouveau movement that swept through fin-de-siècle Europe. His designs are characterized by decorative motifs drawn from and based on organic forms, as well as an integration of the abstract patterns and designs that evolved as a reaction to the stoicism of 19th-century artistic practices. He often used realistic elements to create innovative decorative forms from “formless” materials such as a woman’s hair or the winding stalk of a flower.
While a majority of Mucha’s compositions juxtapose the female form with nature, this rare textile design is purely floral. Some scholars have attributed the large-scale floral motif featured in this design to the influence of the designer Charles Voysey (1857–1941) who had a prolific career as both an architect and a textile/furniture designer. Contemporary designers such as Maurice Pillard Verneuil (1869-1942), described Mucha’s compositions as innovatively coupling a very stylized design with one that was true to nature. Mucha’s work is both a celebration of natural beauty as well as a demonstration of his graphic dexterity for creating fluid and ornamental designs.
Though most famous for his works on paper, Mucha did produce designs for textiles, wallpaper, furniture and even the interior of a jewelry shop for Georges Fouquet (1862–1957). All of these designs were handled by the Parisian firm C.G. Forrer, who then sent the designs to England for production. These furnishing fabrics may have be been used as screens or pillows to compliment an Art Nouveau interior. Though it remains unclear as to how many of his designs were actually produced, a few printed velveteen textiles of Mucha’s design exist in the Cooper-Hewitt collection, among others.