Alphonse Mucha was born in 1860 in Ivancice, Moravia, near the city of Brno in the modern Czech Republic. In his childhood, Mucha sang in a choir and was an amateur musician. He wasn’t among the most hardworking students, and it took him two additional years to finish high school. He admired the art in the local churches, and became determined to pursue a career of a painter, although his father wanted him to become a clerk in the local court.

In 1887 similarly to other enthusiastic artists of the period, Mucha headed to Paris. A lucky encounter in Moravia had provided Mucha with a benefactor who helped him to fund his education. He spent two years in Munich and also painted murals for his patron. Then he was sent off to Paris to study at the Academie Julian. Unfortunately, after two years the supporting funds were discontinued. At the time, he was a 27 year old with no money and no future - the deprived artist. In the course of five years he worked on perfecting his own style and forming his own theory and views on art. Drawing illustrations for popular magazines (ie. insufficient income) was a way to provide some money for food and survival. He was also giving art lessons and at one moment he shared a studio with Gauguin.

In 1895 he premiered his new art to the audiences of Paris. He was commissioned to create a poster for Sarah Bernhardt's play, Gismonda. That poster was the visual manifest of his new style. Bursting with the bright colors and the more square-like shape of the more popular poster artists, the near life-size design was sensational. Art Nouveau ("New Art" in French, known also as Jugend Stil or Secession in Germany, Austria and East and Central Europe) can trace its beginnings to about this time. In no time Mucha’s name became a synonym for Art Nouveau. Mucha revolutionized the art of poster. He established entirely original and special style based on a strong composition, sensuous curves derived from nature, refined decorative elements and natural colors. The principles of Art Nouveau are certainly present, but his vision and original concepts prevail. Sarah Bernhardt signed him to a six year contract to design her posters, costumes and sets scene for her plays. Mucha became popular at the age of 34, after seven years of hard work and deprivation in Paris, the heart of artistic Europe of the era. In 1898 he moved to a new studio and had his first solo show. He also begun publishing graphics with “Champenois,” a new printer eager to promote Mucha’s art with postcards and panneaux - sets of four large images around a central theme (such as four seasons, four times of day, four flowers, etc.) Most of these works were printed on silk and created for collectors.

In 1900 Mucha designed the Bosnia-Hercegovina Pavilion at the World's Fair in Paris. He also published Documents Decoratifs which was his attempt to pass his artistic theories on to next generations. His fame spread around the world, and his travels to America resulted in designing cover pages and illustrations in a variety of U.S. magazines. Portraiture was also commissioned from the U.S. The rest of Mucha's life was spent almost as an anachronism. His work was still beautiful and popular, but it wasn’t a novelty any more- a heinous crime in the eyes of the critics.

When the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia, he was still influential enough to be one of the first people they arrested. In 1939 he returned home after a Gestapo questioning session and died shortly thereafter.