Alphonse Mucha : An Insight Into The Artist is a major exhibition featuring over 240 pieces of the artist’s work. The exhibition venue this time round was at the swanky Mori Arts Museum in Roppongi. Tokyo. At the time of writing the Tokyo exhibition has ended, but it is still touring Japan and is currently in Matsuyama, Ehime. The exhibition will move on to Sendai in late January, and then Sapporo in April. (more details below)

I first saw Mucha’s work a good many years back during the 2005 Exhibition in Ueno and *mindblown*, so any chance to see the master’s work in their original splendour cannot be missed. It was great timing since I was also visiting Katsuya Terada’s 10 Ten exhibition in Kyoto.

No photography is allowed within the exhibition, so these are pictures from the catalogue. Having seen many of his bigger, more commercial work during the first exhibition I turned my attention to smaller, more personal pieces, especially concept sketches done using graphite. His peerless draftsmanship still amazes me to no end.

(above right) A stunning piece from his “Le Pater” allegory series, executed using graphite. It feels as though Mucha was churning out fantasy art like masterpieces even before the genre had a name.

Availability of catalogue : I had expected Amazon Japan to carry this item, but unfortunately they do not at this time. If you can navigate a Japanese website the book can be purchased from here.

And here’s the official page for the exhibition with details on the touring dates. If you are traveling close or around any of the venues, a visit would be more than worth your while.


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