Books by Alphonse Mucha

Among graphic artists and commercial designers, Alphonse Maria Mucha (1860-1939) is praised for his innovative style books that pioneered the use of Art Nouveau in commercial packaging, design, and ornament. The most important of these style books was DOCUMENTS DECORATIFS, published in 1901, and carefully reproduced here. Includes 18 plates in full color, 54 in two or more colors.

This is a new unabridged edition of the two sketchbooks by Heinrich Kley, one of the greatest cartoonists and social satirists of modern times. Kley's drawings combine savage humor that cuts to the bone with unbelievably brilliant draughtsmanship. Several of these sketches have been reprinted time and again, and probably everyone has seen at least one. But until now the main body of Kley's work has been almost completely unavailable, and it has been impossible to savor the full richness of his mocking irony.First published in Munich in 1909 and 1910, Kley's sketches reflected the growing tensions of the twentieth century and the strong undercurrent of disillusionment that Europe was prey to. His frantic, posturing, iconoclastic brainchildren lash mercilessly at bureaucracy, militarism, false Gemütlichkeit, the eccentricities of reformer, the ballast of majesty, and many more facets of a weary civilization. Anyone interested in caustic social satire will find that these vivid, unforgettable cartoons are still among the most enjoyable and pungent examples of this art. Kley's bizarre hybrid and bestial forms (in the long tradition of European visionary fantasy exemplified by Hieronymus Bosch, the elder Breughel, and Goya) give them far more depth and levels of meaning than other works in the genre.Kley's imaginative universe and strongly individual style have often been imitated by later artists, but none has captured his acid depths. His nervous line quality and extraordinary technique are still inspirations for artists and cartoonists who want to learn how to draw line figures that practically leap off the page.A new introduction, specially written for this edition, gathers together the available information on Kley's life and training, the formative elements in the present sketches, and the other facets of his art.First unabridged and unaltered republication of Skizzenbuch, 1909, and Skizzenbuch II, 1910. Two books bound as one.

WORK IS IN FRENCH This book is a reproduction of a work published before 1920 and is part of a collection of books reprinted and edited by Hachette Livre, in the framework of a partnership with the National Library of France, providing the opportunity to access old and often rare books from the BnF's heritage funds.