Alphonse Mucha

Born in 1860 in Ivančice, a region then part of the Austrian Empire, Alphonse Mucha showed artistic talent from a young age, despite his family's modest income. Initially pursuing music, he found his true calling in art. After being rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, he moved to Vienna, where he worked as a scenery painter and was inspired by the grand style of academic painter Hans Makart. A fortunate commission from Count Eduard Khuen Belasi allowed Mucha to d…