The canvas “Spring” of the Czech modernist Alphonse Maria Mucha is made in a unique way of printing – this is lithography. A special chemical composition and contrast of the outline of some elements of the picture, printing machine and any mechanical interference in the process of creating “Spring” by Alphonse Maria remain behind the scenes and are completely incompatible with the beautiful result. This thin surface of color and freshness of the storyline, it would seem, should not be peculiar to the masculine hand. However… “Spring” is a panel from the cycle of A. M. Fly “Seasons”.
The author owns many works with a seasonal theme, in particular, devoted to the spring. What is characteristic of this picture? At the heart of the storyline lies the youth and warmth of the female body. The nymph of Slavic appearance with fiery red hair is the author’s favorite character. She reminds the girl of the old Russian legends, mysterious and tender in her own way, still “untouched”, not braiding her hair with a tight braid. The woman is a win-win allegory of the beginning of life and the birth of the first shoots. The heroine Spring is fertile and ruddy, has magnificent forms, she has strong, but at the same time, “swan” hands. What does it hold in thin fingers, an escape or a willow branch, already juicy and elastic? This is a musical instrument – a harp with thin strings. Its only listeners are birds – heralds of the arrival of heat and melting snow.
Lithograph Alphonse has a warm rich flavor, truly spring colors, and the yellowness of the background is still fresh and transparent. In the ocher green flows the trunk of an old tree. White flowers give out its origin, it is a fruit tree that has seen more than one spring. The corollas of flowers have recently blossomed, in some places the buds have opened. Their cups have purple in the pigment, perhaps Spring is resting under the apricot crown. Yellow-red hair entwined with flowers and amenable to light wind. The maiden is pretty. Her languid gaze conceals the special temperament of the mischievous – Spring. Linen dress hides a young body, gives juiciness and gloss of young skin in a narcotic tear.
Alphonse Mucha is very observant, is not it? He appreciates the beauty of a woman, cherishes her and caresses in colors. The author loves his Spring, puts into the drawing a portion of the masculine look at youth and the virginal freshness of the girl. She is still young, but everything is still ahead – and the severity of summer heat and more saturated colors. The contrast of the bark of the old tree and the youth of the heroine is underlined by color spots and a clear gradation of the palette. Alphonse is not afraid of clear contours. This gives in his talent of graphics and illustrator. The technique in which the artist works is not traditional. And this is not about the way the story is played. The idea itself – to combine lithography and transparent paint texture, so similar to watercolor, confuses the viewer. It is talented and masterfully beautiful.
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